Hidden Truths Of The Hidden Paw
by The Passionate Admiral
Summary: A series of events of Macavity's life. This starts before he was born, and it leads up through the events to where he becomes evil. This is my second CATS fanfic
1. Where To Begin

Hidden Truths of the Hidden Paw

Author: The Passionate Admiral

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own CATS.

Plot: This work of fanfiction tells the story of Macavity. It starts at the first time his parents met, and then it follows up from the events that led to his birth to when he actually becomes evil.

Deuteronomy sat on a tire in the center of the Junkyard. He watched some kittens play with a few balls of yarn thirty feet away. Even though Deuteronomy had just recently entered his adulthood, he usually joined in the fun with the kittens. But he did not join them today, as he did not feel like playing. He did not feel this way for a grim reason: his father was dying.

This terrible fact deeply troubled Deuteronomy, as he loved his father very much. Not only that, but once his father died, Deuteronomy would be in charge of the Jellicle Tribe. He doubted if he actually had the capacity to replace his father as the leader. However, his father was totally sure that his eldest son could take on the responsibility. Deuteronomy tried hard to imagine himself as a good leader, but became worried that he would fail soon after he started.

He was abruptly brought back to awareness when something tapped his lower paw. He looked down and realized that a ball of yarn had rolled over to his foot. A moment later, an orange tabby kitten came over to the ball to retrieve it. He looked up at the older cat and said "Good day, Deuteronomy! Want to come and play with us?"

"Oh, I don't know, Skimble." Deuteronomy replied. "I don't really feel like playing today."

The orange kitten, obviously Skimbleshanks, may have been young, but he knew why Deuteronomy did not look happy. He smiled up at him and told him "I think you just need something to cheer you up. How about you come and play with us for a while and see if that makes you feel better."

Deuteronomy shrugged and said "I guess it's worth a try."

Skimbleshanks and Deuteronomy strolled back over to the rest of the kittens. While they played, Skimbleshanks kept gazing at a queen who was just a little younger than him. Every now and then, she would notice him and smile back. At one point, Skimble whispered to a slightly older tom, "I'm telling you, Spar; Jenny and I are meant to be."

Asparagus grinned at his friend and told him "I think you and Jennyanydots would make a good couple. By the way, speaking of couples, do you think Jelly and I could ever be one?"

"Of course, Spar!" said Skimbleshanks, "If anything, the odds of you ending up with Jellylorum are just as likely as me ending up with Jenny!"

Asparagus just shrugged and said "Maybe."

A moment later, a young queen sauntered into the area. All the kittens and Deuteronomy stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Her coat was smooth and groomed very neatly. Her coat was a mixture of dark yellow, tan, and while. Every inch of her mane was clean and devoid of all filth, even though she was walking through a junkyard.

Deuteronomy knew who this was; she was Grizabella the Glamour Cat. All the toms in the tribe adored her and all the queens in the tribe wished to be like her. Deuteronomy himself was attracted to her, and personally, he had a better chance with Grizabella than any of the kittens, as Grizabella was only a few months younger than him.

Technically, Grizabella herself was still a kitten, but everybody thought of her as an adult. Besides, she was coming of age that year, so she would officially be an adult queen by the next Jellicle Ball.

Grizabella walked up to the group of kittens and asked them "Mind if I join you?"

All the toms eagerly nodded their heads and the queens shared their sentiments. The group resumed playing. At one point in the game, Deuteronomy reached for a certain ball of yarn. The moment before he touched it, Grizabella placed her paw on top of it. Deuteronomy's paw ended up on top of hers.

The two of them looked at each other and for a moment, their eyes were connected. Deuteronomy looked into Grizabella's eyes and she looked into his. For a moment, they forgot everything around them and just looked at each other, smiling.

A few days later, Grizabella was sitting on top of a stove in the junkyard all by herself. At the time, she was just resting herself. Soon, Deuteronomy came over to the stove, hopped onto it, and sat next to her. She looked at him and asked him "Is there something I can help you with, Deuteronomy?"

The two of them had known each other for a long time, but they had only known each other as friends. Deuteronomy slowly began with "Well, uh… Grizabella, as you know… the Jellicle Ball is next month."

"That's correct," she nodded, "And believe me, I am very enthusiastic about it."

Deuteronomy nervously continued with "I… I understand that… that you'll be coming of age at this one. Because of this, you'll, uh, be… required to perform the, um, Mating Dance this year."

She nodded again. Deuteronomy finally worked up the courage to ask her what he had come to ask her "Would you have me as your partner for the Dance."

There was a brief silence between the two. Then Grizabella smiled and said "Deuteronomy, I would be honored to have our tribe's future leader bring me into adulthood."

Deuteronomy smiled and said "I look forward to it, my dear."

Grizabella blushed.


	2. The New Leader

Note: In this chapter, I will be making my first attempt at writing a song about a specific cat. Please let me know what you think of it. By the way, Keynes refers to John Maynard Keynes, a British economist whose ideas profoundly changed modern macroeconomics.

One month later, the Jellicle Ball had arrived. The entire Jellicle Tribe had assembled for the occasion, with the exception of Ancient Leviticus, Deuteronomy's father and the leader of the Jellicle Tribe.

The ball opened up as it always did with the song "Jellicle songs for Jellicle cats." After that, the "The Naming of Cats" came next.

Then there was the "Invitation to the Jellicle Ball." This year, Grizabella performed the Solo Dance flawlessly. When she was finished, Deuteronomy's younger brother, Bustopher Jones, rushed out and sang "Jellicle cats, come out tonight! Jellicle cats, come one, come all!"

Grizabella started dancing alongside Bustopher as he continued "The Jellicle moon is shining bright! Jellicles, come to the Jellicle ball! Jellicle cats, come out tonight! Jellicles, come to the Jellicle ball!"

Deuteronomy stepped forward and half-sang, half-said the following:

"_Jellicle cats meet once a year_

_At the Jellicle Ball, where we all rejoice!_

_And the Jellicle leader will soon appear_

_And make what is known as 'The Jellicle Choice.'_

_When Ancient Leviticus just before dawn_

_Through a silence you feel you could cut with a knife_

_Announces the cat that can now be reborn_

_And come back to a different Jellicle life._

_For waiting up there_

_Is the Heaviside Lair_

_Full of wonders ONE Jellicle only will see._

_And Jellicles ask because Jellicles dare_

'_Who will it be?'"_

Deuteronomy could hear the tribe echoing his words behind him "Who will it be?"

Then the Jellicles all moved to the sides of the clearing. An orange, white, and brown tabby slid to the center of the clearing and raised his arms in the air. In the background, music started up. It went to the tune of "Joseph's Coat" from _Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat_ (Note: I want to keep the rhythms of all the songs restricted to Andrew Lloyd Webber beats. Also, I would highly recommend that you at least listen to the song "Joseph's Coat" if you have never heard it before; as the song I am going to write follows the same EXACT tune. You don't have to listen to it if you do not want to, but if you are not familiar with the song's tune, this next part may seem very confusing).

Deuteronomy knew who this tabby was; he was Sir Tolecerv (pronounced Toll-e-serve). Tolecerv was the father of Jellylorum and Jennyanydots. He was also the greatest economist in the entire tribe. He was in charge of managing the tribe's resources, and he always did a superb job of handling finances. Every other member of the tribe was grateful for his work. Evidently, they were so grateful, that this year the opening song (after the "Invitation") was be about him!

Jennyanydots and Jellylorum crawled near their father. Jellylorum then stood up and began the song:

"_Sir Tolecerv… he is our economist!_"

Jenny then sang the next verse "_He handles all deals with a sturdy iron fist!_"

Skimbleshanks sang from the other side of the clearing: "_Do not forget… the stock market_…"

Asparagus finished the verse: "_Needs his strong financial skills_!"

Tolecerv stood up and sang "_Should interest drop, I am one you're bound to see._

_For I never miss an opportunity._"

Jenny continued the verse "_He does not lie… though he is sly._"

Jelly sang "_And he always pays the bills!_"

Jenny smiled and sang "_He can haggle for the tribe…_"

Jelly finished for her sister "_Either by trade or by bribe!_"

Skimble stood up and sang "_And when someone needs some shoes to tap-dance…_"

Tolecerv threw his head back and sang proudly "_I'll find one pair just for a mere sixpence._"

Then all the cats sang in unison "_He manages the house income._

_And never once mistakes the sum!_

_We don't ever have to check the reserve._

_That task's always handled by Tolecerv!_"

"_Even loan sharks tremble at the sight of him._" Jelly finished the verse.

There was nothing but music for a moment, but then Jelly resumed singing:

"_Sir Tolecerv… a cat who's quite reliable._"

Jenny continued: "_Now, that claim… is downright undeniable._"

"_He's quite astute,_" sang Deuteronomy.

"_He's kind of cute,_" Grizabella sang somewhat sensually, making Tolecerv blush.

All the same, he sang his next line nonchalantly: "_And I always watch inflation!_"

Then Asparagus and Skimbleshanks came out with a few pieces of cardboard that had certain types of charts drawn on them. Tolecerv walked over to them and pretended to study them while his daughters sang the next two lines.

Jelly: "_Hours he spends, studying inflation stats._"

Jenny: "_In every way, he's regarded as the Keynes of cats._"

Both: "_Some even think… he has a link…_"

Tolecerv turned around and walked back to the center, singing: "_To the head of the nation!_"

Around the junkyard, most of the cats started vocalizing to provide background sounds.

Jenny resumed singing "_He has been known to spend days…_"

Jelly went on "_Thinking up new ways to raise…_"

All the toms sang out in unison "_Business with his colleagues and his partners._

_He loves working with colleagues and partners._"

"_We all know his color's green; as he is always on the scene…_"

The toms sang out again "_Doing business with colleagues and partners._

_He loves working with colleagues and partners._"

Skimbleshanks sang "_With his surplus, he can get a decent trim._"

At that, Tolecerv ran his paws over his coat. He pointed out how it had recently been trimmed, and by one of the best groomers in London, no less!

Asparagus sang out "_Sir Tolecerv is clearly quite intelligent._"

Skimble added in "_In disasters, he's one who is always sent!_"

Jenny sang "_And he's a hit… we must admit…_"

Jelly finished "_At finding relation!_"

All the cats sang together "_And when we need to preserve…_

_We call upon Sir Tolecerv!_

_He's a cat that never, ever takes long._

_And his calculations never go wrong._"

Tolecerv sang with a note of pride in his voice:

"_I am watchful; I'm aware_

_Of business changes in the air._

_I'm well-versed in macroeconomics._

_Such a joy is macroeconomics._"

Then he half-sang, half-said "I once took part in an auction and always outbid all the others and sold a house and balanced my owner's checkbook and double-checked his revenue and worked my way through business school and came out on top and learned all the rules of finance and followed them since then and I have never failed once for I am not DIM!"

The song ended there; so the music abruptly stopped. All the cats applauded for Tolecerv. He bowed low, saying "Thank you, thank you."

After that, there came a song for Skimbleshanks' mother, Ferianda. After that, a few more songs passed, and finally, Ancient Leviticus himself arrived in the junkyard. A play put together by Asparagus' father, Gus The Theatre Cat, was performed to entertain Ancient Leviticus. Then it was time for the dancing part of the Jellicle Ball. Deuteronomy danced with a few of his friends, including Skimbleshanks and Asparagus. Grizabella danced after him with some of her friends such as Jennyanydots and Jellylorum.

Finally, it was time for the Mating Dance. Almost all of the cats dropped to all four of their paws. The only two that remained on their hind feet were Deuteronomy and Grizabella. The two of them approached each other with a look of slight nervousness in their eyes. However, they were able to put the nervousness to the side and concentrate on the moment.

Grizabella turned her back to Deuteronomy. He firmly grasped her sides just below her waist, and lifted her up. He held her over his head for about ten seconds. Then he rested her on his shoulder. He took his right paw and gently stroked Grizabella's leg with it. All around him, the other cats were getting paired up with each other. Skimbleshanks was with Jennyanydots, Asparagus was with Jellylorum, and so on and so for until everyone had a partner.

Deuteronomy gently lowered Grizabella down and placed her on top of Tolecerv's chest. Then he stroked her chest gently with his paws. Tolecerv went to join his mate for the dance.

Deuteronomy eased himself down and lay next to Grizabella. The two of them firmly embraced each other. Then, just like everyone around them, they… mated for the first time ever.

Grizabella was a very flirtatious queen, but she had never been mated with someone before. She found Deuteronomy to be a wonderful person, and she was very thankful that he had helped her come of age.

Deuteronomy was just thrilled at the moment. Grizabella the Glamour Cat had agreed to perform the Mating Dance with him. He felt a strong connection to her, even after the moment had ended.

Deuteronomy whispered "Grizabella?"

She smiled and whispered back "Yes, Deuteronomy?"

He paused for a moment, and then almost stuttered "Will… will you… be my mate?"

She didn't hesitate for a moment. In the past month, she had gotten to know Deuteronomy so well and vice versa. She knew that she would be happiest with him. Deuteronomy didn't love her for her glamour, and she didn't love him for his position of power in the tribe; they both loved each other for their kind personalities.

Grizabella whispered back "Of course I will; I'd be honored."

The two of them fell asleep in each other's arms just like everyone else around them.

When they woke up, there was more dancing, more songs, and finally, the Jellicle choice. Ancient Leviticus had decided that it was his time to ascend into the Heaviside Lair. The tribe was saddened by the fact that their leader was departing from them, but they were happy that he would soon be reborn into a new Jellicle life.

Ancient Leviticus slowly made his way to a platform. Very soon, a staircase descended from the clouds. Ancient Leviticus began his descent. When he reached the top, he looked back one last time at the tribe. He gazed at Deuteronomy and gave him a nod. Deuteronomy returned the nod to respect his father.

Finally, Leviticus reached the clouds and the staircase disappeared.

Everyone looked at Deuteronomy then. He went to the platform his father had stood on and he recited "The Addressing of Cats" perfectly. When he was finished, Grizabella joined him on the platform. She stood right next to him, put her paw on his shoulder, turned to the rest of the tribe, and announced "I give you Deuteronomy, the new leader of our tribe!"

Everyone joyfully cheered to acknowledge their new leader.


	3. Family Of Five

Note: I'm sorry if this chapter may look as if it was written by a fanfiction newbie; I just could not think of a way to point out a lot of details without being very general in some of my writing.

One year and eleven months later…

Grizabella was in labor. She was in her den spread out on her bed, gripping Ferianda's hand tightly, and taking in slow, deep breathes. In a way, she felt somewhat ridiculous; she had already gone through this process twice before, but even on the third time, she still could not get used to the feeling of giving birth. But her mother had told her that that was only a natural feeling for one to have.

_Ignore the pain, _She thought to herself; _Think about something else, Bella. Think about… the kitten, of course! Think about the kitten and how in a few moments, she- or he- will be in your arms. Just keep breathing like Ferianda showed you._

A queen named Kaliedopa was at the other end of the bed, preparing to receive the kitten when it came out. Ferianda was comforting Grizabella while Kaliedopa was instructing her on certain things, such as the duration of each of her deep breathes. Kaliedopa knew a few ways to help ease the birthing process for Grizabella. She herself had undergone two pregnancies of her own, and both times, she had given birth to a queen.

Deuteronomy was just outside the den, waiting for somebody to come out and beckon him inside. He could hear Grizabella's screams, and could not help but worry about her and the kitten.

Sure, they had been through this twice before, but he still could not help feeling nervous.

Deuteronomy's other two kittens were with him outside the door. The elder of the two had been born about eight months earlier. He was a tall, black and silver striped tabby with a strongly-built frame. His name was Munkustrap, and his father had decided that when he came of age, he would be made the Jellicle Protector. He believed this was a wise decision, as Munkustrap was very responsible and he upheld familial values in the highest regard.

Munkustrap was very proud to be Deuteronomy's son, and he was equally proud of how his father had made him the second-in-command of the Jellicle Tribe.

The younger of the two kittens had been born around five months earlier. He was also tall, but not as tall as Munkustrap. His coat was black and his fur was brown. He had a mane that made him oddly resemble a Maine Coon. His name was Rum Tum Tugger.

At first glance, one would never have guessed that he and Munkustrap were brothers. Not only were their physical appearances profoundly different, but their personalities were as well. Munkustrap was humble, protective, and very serious. However, every now and then, he played with the other kittens in the junkyard and found he enjoyed it. Rum Tum Tugger, on the other hand, was haughty, complacent, and perhaps even a little flippant. He was also incredibly flirtatious.

At that moment, Bombalurina, a red four-month old queen and the elder of Kaliedopa's two daughters, came walking by. Tugger smirked at her as she passed. She smirked back. Tugger went to flirt with her. As he did, Munkustrap rolled his eyes and whispered something into his father's ear. Deuteronomy grinned and nodded.

Demeter, Bombalurina's younger sister, sauntered over to the group. She was only born a month earlier, and she was very shy. However, being near her older sister made her feel a little less timid. As she approached them, Tugger and Bombalurina smiled friendly at her. She smiled back.

Demeter was one of the few queens in the junkyard who was not interested in Rum Tum Tugger. But she was quite fond of Munkustrap.

"How long have you been waiting?" Bombalurina asked Tugger.

"A few hours," Tugger estimated, "I'd say four or five."

"I feel that I won't be long now." Deuteronomy commented.

After another hour, Kaliedopa opened up the makeshift door to the den and, smiling sweetly, told him "Come on inside, Deuteronomy."

Deuteronomy immediately stood up and walked into the den. The newborn kitten was a ginger tom. Grizabella was holding him against her chest and stroking his face affectionately. As her mate approached, she looked up at him and smiled. Deuteronomy sat down on the bed next to her and looked into his third son's face.

"Such a handsome tom, Grizabella," he said.

"I would happen to agree with you," she smiled. Then an idea popped into her head. She turned to her mate and told him "Maybe we should call you 'Old Deuteronomy,' now that you're a father of three."

Deuteronomy shrugged and said "I suppose that would be suitable."

There was a brief moment of silence. Then Ferianda asked them "Have you selected a name for him?"

Grizabella nodded and uttered one word: "Macavity."


	4. Coming Outside

Macavity stayed in his parents' den for most of the first three month of his life. In fact, the only time he had really come outside was for the Jellicle Ball, which coincided with the day he became a month old. With the exception of that, he almost never left his parents' den.

After he became three months old, his parents started to encourage him to go out and play with the other kittens in the tribe. He personally preferred spending time with them, but because they insisted on it, he agreed to join the other kittens' in their games.

Macavity made his way out of his parents' den and went to join the other kittens. He thought about how he should properly introduce himself to them, as his parents had told him that first impressions are very important.

He spotted the other kittens playing a game of the tribe's version of soccer. There were two young adult cats in the group as well. Macavity slowly approached the group, trying to feel confident. But when Demeter saw him approaching, Macavity ducked to the ground as if trying to hide himself from her view.

He heard her tell the others "Look! It's Macavity!"

A moment later, Munkustrap was at Macavity's side. He pulled his younger brother to his feet. Macavity shyly looked up at him, and attempted a friendly smile. Munkustrap smiled back.

"Ummm… hey, Munk." Macavity stuttered, greeting his brother.

"How are you doing, Mac?"

"Well, uh…" Macavity began, "Mom and Dad convinced me to come outside and 'have fun.' So… would, uh… you mind if… if I, uh… joined you?"

Munkustrap continued grinning at his brother. "Of course you can join in."

Macavity said "Thanks."

Munkustrap escorted his brother over to where the other kittens and the two adult cats were playing. He introduced Macavity to them and vice versa.

"Do you know how to play soccer?" inquired Bombalurina.

"Not really," answered Macavity, "I just know that it started as a human sport, and they can only use their feet. In our case, we can only use our hind feet. Unfortunately, I don't have much experience."

"We'll start out small," said a black and white queen named Clemitanie, "It doesn't take long to get the hang of it."

The teams were Toms versus Queens. Macavity was on the side with Munkustrap, Rum Tum Tugger, and a two other toms named Wangidet and Augustus. Wangidet was a kitten with black fur all around his body; his face, his chest, and his paws were the only parts of his body that were white. Augustus was one of the two adult cats; he had mostly solid brown fur; there were faint regions of cream all over his body. The other team was composed of Bombalurina, Demeter, Clemitanie, and two other queens named Nyrebima and Ingrid. Nyrebima was the other adult cat; she was a silvery Siamese one. Ingrid was a white and brown calico kitten.

They decided to play until one team had scored ten goals. The goal lines were provided by two pairs of empty cans spaced six feet apart from each other. The two pairs were placed on opposite ends of the clearing in the junkyard.

With Macavity, the team member ratio was even at 5:5. Wangidet and Nyrebima were the goalies. Munkustrap and Bombalurina were the team captains. They stood at the midway points between their teams' goals and the center of the clearing. The rest of the kittens were facing each other off. Tugger was positioned in front of Demeter; he smirked at her, but she just hissed at him. Ingrid and Augustus were also facing each other off; their facial expressions were neutral in feeling. Lastly, Macavity was positioned in front of Clemitanie; she just smiled at him. Macavity did not know how to respond, so he just returned the smile. Clemitanie seemed to be very friendly.

Munkustrap placed the soccer ball in between the two teams. Despite the fact that it was just slightly smaller than the kittens, it was still very light and easy for them to kick.

After a few more seconds of facing each other off, Munkustrap shouted "Let's play ball!"

Most of the kittens dove for the ball and struggled to gain possession of it.

Macavity started out by losing the ball twice to Bombalurina, but fortunately for him, he was a quick learner. The next time he had the ball, Bomby ran to him again. But this time, he easily maneuvered around her and kicked the ball over Nyrebima's head.

Munkustrap came over to him and patted him on the back. He told him "Good shot, Mac. A few more of those and this game will be ours!"

A few minutes later, both teams had a total of nine points each. Macavity thought to himself "This is it. Don't mess up."

He started making his way to the queens' goal. He managed to dodge Clemitanie, Ingrid, and Demeter. He was just about to kick the ball into the goal when a flash of red passed him by. A moment later, Macavity looked at his hind feet. The ball was gone! He turned around and saw Bombalurina heading in the opposite direction. Apparently, Bomby was a good observer. She had been studying Macavity's tactics, and found a weak spot in them. She had been able to steal the ball from Macavity for the third time that day.

Macavity worried that his team would lose the game because he had lost the ball. He tried to catch up with Bombalurina, but she was taller and faster than he was. Wangidet was the goalie for the toms. He too was getting nervous as Bombalurina approached him. Soon, she was less than five feet in front of him, preparing to kick the ball past his goal line.

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Tugger shoved Bombalurina and recovered the ball from her. Tugger approached the goal with the ball at his feet. The other queens tried to intercept him, but he was too quick. He pretended to quick the ball to the left, so Nyrebima dove to her right. Tugger kicked the ball to the right, and the ball sailed past the queens' goal line.

Less than one second after the ball sailed past the goal line, Tugger, Munkustrap, Wangidet, and Augustus all shouted in unison "GOOOOAAAL!" The four toms ran to the center of the clearing and cheered.

Macavity did not join in. He was just staring at Bombalurina. He had watched as Tugger shoved her onto the ground. From that point on, he just watched in disbelief as Tugger nonchalantly took the ball from her and scored the game point.

Macavity went over to Bombalurina and helped her onto her feet. "Are you hurt?" he asked her.

"No, but thanks for asking," she responded gratefully. As soon as he got his answer, Macavity turned to the center of the clearing and marched over to Tugger.

Once Tugger and the other three toms had stopped cheering, Macavity shouted "The game's not over!"

Everyone turned to him, confused by his words.

"What do you mean, Mac?" asked Tugger. Tugger turned to Munkustrap and asked him "I thought we scored ten goals. Did I miscount?"

Munkustrap took a moment to think, and he was able to recall all ten goals his team had made. "No, you didn't miscount."

"That last goal doesn't count," Macavity interjected.

The other toms looked at him, surprised.

"Why not?" asked Augustus.

"Tugger shoved Bombalurina before he got the ball," Macavity pointed out.

"So?" Tugger said indifferently.

Macavity was starting to get angry. He said to Tugger "I may be new to this sport, but I do know that the rules specifically prohibit any unnecessary physical contact."

Tugger scoffed "Since we were about to lose, I wouldn't call that 'unnecessary.'"

"Regardless of that, Bomby and her team should get a penalty kick," Macavity observed.

"Mac, we won!" said Wangidet, unsure if Macavity was aware of their victory.

"I don't care about winning," Macavity said through gritted teeth, "I care about playing fairly. And shoving people is definitely not 'playing fairly.'"

"He does have a point," Munkustrap said to Tugger, "Perhaps we should listen to him."

"No, it's okay." Bombalurina admitted, "After all, it's just a game."

"If it's just a game," said Macavity, "then why cheat to win?"

"Don't accuse me of cheating," Tugger warned Macavity.

"Then give Bomby's team a penalty kick," Macavity tried to reason with him.

"No way," said Tugger, "We won fair and square."

"Tugger, you DID cheat!" Macavity yelled. "You broke the rules on purpose! I'm not going to let that go unnoticed!"

Tugger was starting to get aggravated by Macavity's behavior. He slowly approached his brother and told him "Mac, you've been staying inside with Mom and Dad too much for the past three months. Now that you're out here, I should probably let you know something. I play by my own rules, I'm known as a 'curious cat,' and I will do as I DO."

When Tugger said "DO," he pushed Macavity back a few feet. But Macavity managed to remain on his hind feet. He looked back at Tugger, angrier than before. He said sternly "Don't push me."

"I'll push you if I want to," said Tugger.

Macavity walked back up to his brother and said "Fine. Then I'll push you back!"

He pushed Tugger with the same amount of force. Tugger stumbled backward into Augustus and Wangidet. When he recovered, he glared back at Macavity. He went back over to him and shoved him with even more force.

This time, Macavity fell to the ground. The queens gasped at the sight. Wangidet and Augustus chuckled. Munkustrap said "That's enough."

Tugger just looked pleased with himself.

Suddenly, Macavity snapped. He got up off the ground and lunged at Tugger. Before anyone realized what was happening, the two were rolling across the ground, fighting each other viciously. Munkustrap tried to get his brothers to stop fighting, but they ignored him.

"I'll teach you something about respect," Macavity snarled as he fought Tugger.

"And I'll teach you some manners!" shouted Tugger in turn.

After a minute of fighting, Tugger was on top of Macavity. He grabbed Macavity by the neck with one paw, and then he brought his other paw up and struck his brother across the face twice.

Macavity spotted an opportunity to fight back. When Tugger raised his paw to strike him a third time, Macavity bared his claws. In a split-second, he swiped his paw across Tugger's face.

Almost immediately, Tugger let go of Macavity, covered his face with his front paws, and got off of his brother. He shouted in pain for a few seconds, walking away backwards.

Finally, he stopped shouting and remained standing still. He was still covering his face with his front paws. Macavity got up off the ground and gazed at Tugger. His feelings of anger slowly turned into feelings of shock.

Munkustrap went over to Tugger and said "Tugger, are you alright?"

"I… I guess… I don't know," Tugger touched the place Macavity had scratched him with his right paw. He slowly brought his paw to the front of his eyes. There was a hint of blood on his paw. It was then that Tugger discovered that his face was bleeding.

Macavity was horrified that he had done this. He had only meant to get his brother to play fairly; he didn't mean to hurt him in such a manner.

Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger stared at their brother in disbelief. Macavity looked around at the others. They were staring at him in the same unpleasant way.

Macavity looked back at Tugger and tried to apologize, "Tugger, I'm…"

"Don't say it," Tugger said quietly, looking away from Macavity.

Macavity was overcome with overwhelming guilt and despair. He turned around and dove into an oven at one end of the clearing. He closed the door and sat inside it. He started sobbing, thinking to himself _I can't believe I just did that. What was I thinking?_

He spent the next five minutes crying. After five minutes, the oven door was opened. Macavity turned to see who had opened the door. It was both Demeter and Clemitanie.

"Mind if we join you?" asked the latter.

He slowly nodded. They crawled inside and sat next to him.

"How's Tugger?" was all he could say.

"He's alright," said Demeter, "We decided to call the game a draw."

Clemitanie was concerned for Macavity. She asked him "Are you alright, Macavity?"

"I can't believe I just scratched by own brother across the face," he said flat out, "I mean, I was only trying to get him to play fairly, and I ended up scratching him across the face with my claws!"

"You had to defend yourself somehow," said Demeter.

"Besides, you shouldn't forget that it was Tugger who initiated the fight," said Clemitanie.

"I know," said Macavity, "But what is everybody else going to think of me now?"

"They won't judge you for this," Demeter assured him.

"What about Tugger himself?"

"The bleeding stopped after about two minutes," Clemitanie explained, "After that, Tugger decided that you were right and that he should not have shoved Bombalurina."

Macavity looked at the two queens. He realized that they were trying to be supportive and that they didn't think of him as brutal or spiteful.

Eventually, Demeter and Clemitanie convinced Macavity to get out of the oven and come rejoin the group. Macavity nervously approached Tugger. Tugger was actually smiling at him. Macavity tried to smile back, but his guilt was making it very difficult to do so.

When he reached Tugger, he looked up at his brothers' eyes and said "Tugger, I… I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too, Mac." Tugger replied.

The two of them embraced each other in a brotherly way. Munkustrap smiled as he watched his brothers make up for their fight.

"What about the scratches on your face?" queried Macavity, "Won't people notice them?"

"I'll just say that it was an accident," Tugger concluded, "Now, who wants to play a different game?"

The kittens and Nyrebima and Augustus decided to play a game of "Find the Mouse" next.

In this game, one of the kittens would hide while the others would search for him or her. If one of the seekers found the hiding kitten, he or she would hide with him or her.

Clemitanie was the first "mouse." While the other kittens and Nyrebima and Augustus closed their eyes, she hid in the trunk of the TSE-1 car.

Macavity was the first one to find her. He got in with her and closed the trunk once again.

They waited for somebody to find them. After waiting for a few minutes, they started talking to each other. Clemitanie told Macavity all about herself and her family, as well as some parts of her personal life. Macavity listened to her and paid attention to every detail.

When she was finished, Macavity was about to tell Clemitanie about himself, but Tugger and everybody else found them.

Tugger just smirked at his younger brother as he opened the trunk of the TSE-1. He commented "It appears that I was not the only one who inherited some of Dad's charm."

Macavity was confused by this. Clemitanie could determine this by the expression on his face, so she whispered into his ear what Tugger meant.

"Oh, ha, ha, Tugger," Macavity remarked sarcastically, "Clemitanie was just telling me about herself. Sure, she is a kind and caring person-" Clemitanie blushed here, making the queens giggle- "But I'm not trying to flirt with her."

Clemitanie said sensually but jokingly "Would you like to, Mac?"

This time it was Macavity's turn to blush. As the rest of the kittens snickered, Macavity said "Well, um… well, I suppose… maybe… uh, I- Oh, look at the time! Time for lunch! Gotta go, bye!"

Macavity quickly jumped out of the car trunk and departed from the clearing. The other kittens watched him leave.

Finally, Demeter asked aloud "Who eats lunch at ten in the morning?"


	5. A Peculiar Discovery

Author's Note: Sorry about the wait. My school just finished midterms yesterday (We have midterms before Christmas Break). But I'm back and I'll have my mind focused on this for at least the next 2 ½ weeks!

Over the course of the next few months, Macavity played and socialized with his friends. He spent a lot of his time with Clemitanie. He found that he greatly enjoyed her company; the feeling was mutual for her.

One day, all of the kittens were playing unsupervised in the clearing. Macavity and Clemitanie were playfully chasing each other around the vicinity. Clemitanie chased Macavity up to the highest perch in the junkyard. He soon reached the top and waited for her to catch up. When she arrived she smirked and said "I've got you now!"

"Oh, I don't think so," Macavity grinned.

All of a sudden, Macavity's back paw slipped. He lost his balance and fell off of the pile.

"No, MAC!" Clemitanie shouted as her friend fell over the side. The distance between the perch and the ground was about ten feet (which was more like twenty feet from a Jellicle's point of view).

Macavity disappeared from the Clemitanie's view. Terrified, she looked over the side of the perch. She was expecting to see Mac seriously wounded or worse on the ground. Instead, what she saw was something unexpected and peculiar. Just before Macavity should have hit the ground, he had stopped falling and he was frozen in midair.

The rest of the kittens stopped what they were doing and stared. Macavity himself had no idea what was happening. Clemitanie climbed down the junk pile and got underneath her friend. She called to him "Mac, what's going on?"

"I have no idea," he responded. Macavity added with a note of annoyance "I would like some help getting down, if you don't mind."

Clemitanie tried to jump up to Macavity to grab him, but he was still too high in the air. The other kittens tried to form a pile, but they could not properly balance on each other.

"We can't reach you," Clemitanie told him sadly.

Macavity sighed and said "So, what should I do?"

"Try focusing," Munkustrap suggested, "Try to imagine getting yourself down from there."

"I guess I could try," said Macavity. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine reaching the ground. A moment later, he abruptly turned to face the ground and he fell the last few feet to the ground. He landed on all fours, which made him smile and say "I guess it's true what they say; 'a cat always lands on his feet.'"

The other kittens chuckled at his comment. After a moment, Macavity noticed that Clemitanie was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Clemitanie?" he asked the others, looking around the clearing. They just chuckled harder than before, leaving Macavity both concerned and confused.

Finally, a muffled voice said below him a moment later "Do they also say 'a cat lands on other cats,' too?"

Macavity looked down at his paws. He had landed right on Clemitanie!

"Oops, sorry," he quickly apologized and got off of her.

She just laughed as he helped her up. When she was able to control herself, she suggested "Perhaps we should tell somebody about this."

"I don't know about that," Bombalurina countered. "The adults may just think we were up to no god."

The other kittens muttered their agreement with Bombalurina. Unbeknownst to any of them, at that moment, a broken radio was starting to fall from the top of the pile just behind them. It was dropping towards them at tremendous speed.

Macavity noticed it and shouted "Look out!"

All of the other kittens except Clemitanie dove away from the radio. Clemitanie dove behind Macavity, who stuck out his left paw towards the radio, as if doing so would stop it when it reached them. Without warning, a bolt of lightning shot out of Macavity's paw. It sailed toward the radio and, upon contact, completely obliterated it.

For the second time in less than five minutes, something completely unpredicted had happened in front of the kittens. Both of them had involved Macavity.

All nine of the kittens stared at Macavity. All Macavity could do was stare at his left paw. His left paw was sparkling in several places. He looked at his right paw; it was doing the same thing.

"What… what's happening?" was all Macavity could utter.

Macavity remembered how he had managed to get himself back to the ground, and he concluded that the same method would fix what was happening with his paws. He imagined his paws before they were sparkling, and almost immediately, they returned to their former state.

Macavity continued to stare at his paws in confusion. Finally, he turned to Bombalurina and asked her "Do you still think we should keep this quiet, Bomby?"

"No," she answered, "This could be serious. We should definitely tell somebody."

The kittens went to tell Old Deuteronomy about their discovery. After spending hours in solitary meditation, the answer had come to Old Deuteronomy. He summoned his youngest son to give him the revealed answer.

"What does this mean, father?" Macavity inquired, "Is it something I should be concerned about?"

"Yes," Old Deuteronomy answered, "but not in a negative way, my son. After meditating upon this, I have discovered that you are… a magical cat."

Macavity's eyes lit up. He shouted in surprise "A WHAT?"

Old Deuteronomy replied as calmly as before "A magical cat."

Macavity suddenly felt a multitude of mixed emotions all at once. He was shocked, interested, surprised, anxious, excited, and fascinated all at the same time. Above all, he was startled by what his father had just told him.

After a few moments, Macavity looked back at Old Deuteronomy and asked him "Dad, what does this mean?"

Old Deuteronomy explained the matter to his son in great detail. He told him "Magical cats have abilities that defy many of the laws of nature. For example, as you observed earlier, they defy the law of gravity."

Macavity nodded nervously and said "The effect took me quite by surprise."

Old Deuteronomy continued "Levitation is one of the powers you possess. Another one is your ability to conjure up lightning bolts from your paws."

"Are these the only two I possess?" inquired Macavity.

"No, you will experience many more in time," Old Deuteronomy told him.

"Such as?"

"Hypnosis," Old Deuteronomy gave him an example, "Or, perhaps, the ability to transport yourself from one location to another. Another likely one will cause an exponential increase in your agility and surreptitiousness."

"My agility and my what?" Macavity was confused by the word his father had used.

"Your surreptitiousness," Old Deuteronomy repeated, "Surreptitiousness is the exact same concept as stealth."

"Oh, okay," Macavity got the message that his father was sending him, but he was still very bewildered by the whole idea: A MAGICAL CAT!

"I still have many questions, Dad," Macavity told his father, "Like, why is it that nobody else in the tribe is a magical cat?"

Old Deuteronomy explained "Magical cats are very rare. It has been at least four decades since there last was one to walk the Earth, and it has been over a century since there was one that lived in England."

Macavity understood his father. Then he just turned to the side and stared at the wall. He just stared until his father became concerned for him.

"Are you alright, Macavity?" Old Deuteronomy asked his son.

"Yes, Dad, I'm fine," Macavity assured his father, "It's just that… this is all happening so fast."

Old Deuteronomy smiled and said "I understand your apprehension. However, you should look at this from a positive perceptive. But, of course, there will be some standards about this subject that I will have to establish."

Macavity looked at Old Deuteronomy and nodded. He asked him "What must I do?"

Old Deuteronomy answered "Whenever one of your magical powers surfaces, I want you to come directly to me. I will instruct you in how to control these powers and how to put them to use by teaching you discipline, concentration, and determination. For the time being, I will help you learn to control the two powers you already possess by teaching you the aforementioned qualities."

"I look forward to it," Macavity admitted honestly, "What type of plan do you have in mind?"

Old Deuteronomy explained "We will spend one hour every day working on controlling your levitation and another hour working on controlling your ability to conjure up lightning bolts from your paws. We shall do this routine until you have mastered both of them."

Macavity nodded. "When should we begin?"

"As soon as you wish."

"How about now?"

"Very well," Old Deuteronomy stood up and both he and Macavity left the den.

Note: There's going to be more very soon (By "soon," I mean within the next two or three days!)!


	6. Exercises

Note: I'm sorry if this chapter seems to be a little slow or dull. The next chapter will be very exciting.

When Old Deuteronomy and Macavity came back outside, some of the kittens came to them and started bombarding them with many questions.

Most of the questions were directed at Macavity. "What did you find out?" "Are you alright?" "Is something terrible happening to you?"

Macavity decided to explain on his own. He kept his explanation brief but clear: "You guys are not going to believe this, but I just discovered that I'm a magical cat!"

Most of the kittens just stared at him with blank expressions on their faces. Then Munkustrap shouted "A WHAT?"

"That was my response when Dad first told me," Macavity chuckled, "but when I was able to grasp the concept, the shock subsided."

"So… what exactly does this mean?" asked Bombalurina.

"It means I possess abilities that defy the laws of nature," said Macavity.

"Such as?" Rum Tum Tugger beckoned.

"Levitation and the ability to produce lightning bolts," Macavity clarified, "Dad says more abilities will surface in time."

"So, what are you going to do now?" inquired Clemitanie.

"We are about to begin Macavity's training." Old Deuteronomy answered her. Before anyone could ask what he meant by "training," Old Deuteronomy went ahead and told them: "These magical abilities will make many advantages available to Macavity, but he has insufficient experience and discipline to control them at the moment. I will train him so that he may improve his abilities."

"Cool," Tugger turned to Macavity and asked him "When do you start?"

"Immediately," Old D answered for Macavity.

"What's first, Dad?" Macavity asked his father.

"We will start with your ability to conjure up lightning," Old Deuteronomy explained, "I will help you improve your accuracy and precision."

Old D and Macavity walked over to the tire on one end of the junkyard. Old D had Macavity stand approximately ten feet away from the tire. Then he took an empty can out of the pile and placed it on top of the tire. He moved away from it and turned to Macavity. He instructed him "I want you to focus on the can. Imagine that it is the only object you can see."

Macavity concentrated on the can. When he was properly focused, he asked his father "What now?"

"Imagine the lightning bolts starting to form on your paws," Old D continued, "As soon as you have accomplished this, I will give you your next set of instructions."

Macavity glimpsed at his paws and imagined them sparkling once again. Once they started to sparkle, he looked at Old Deuteronomy.

Old D continued: "Now, here is the difficult part. You must not aim at the can."

Macavity was confused by this part of the instructions. "How can I hit it properly if I don't aim at it?"

"Just trust me," said Old Deuteronomy, "These instructions have been preserved for many generations, but I still know them by heart."

Macavity nodded. He turned to the can and kept his focus on it. Then he thrust his paw forward and a bolt of lightning shot out of it.

Macavity's aim was a little off; the lightning bolt sailed right towards Old Deuteronomy! Fortunately, the Jellicle Leader managed to duck right in time. Macavity quickly apologized, and his father forgave him.

"Now this time, you must aim," Old Deuteronomy instructed him.

"What?" Macavity was profoundly confused now. "But I thought you just said-"

"This is meant to show you the change in your form," said Old D, "Tactics must be compared before one specific one is chosen."

Macavity nodded again. This time, he focused on the can and imagined that it being destroyed by a bolt of lightning. Then he thrust his paw forward and out came another bolt. It sailed toward the can and blew it into dozens of small pieces.

Macavity looked pleased with himself, as Old D gave him an approving nod.

"We will practice this for one hour," said Old D, "We will constantly alternate between the two forms I have just shown you. At the end of the hour, we will decide which one will be better for you."

"Would you mind if we watched?" asked Demeter. She and the other kittens had been lying on the ground several feet away, and they had observed the entire exercise from their positions.

Old D agreed to let them watch if they were silent and if they did not create a distraction.

After an hour of practicing, Macavity had significantly improved his posture and his concentration. He had decided that the form that did not involve aiming better suited him.

Once Old D was satisfied with his son's improvement, he decided that is was time for an exercise in levitation.

For this exercise, Macavity climbed to the top most point of the junkyard. Some of the other kittens had laid out soft matting all over the ground around the tower. This was simply taken as a precautionary measure in case Macavity's first attempt at levitation was "unsuccessful."

This exercise required some of the same tactics as the lightning bolt one; Macavity needed to remain focused on his objectives and he had to block all doubt of success out of his mind. However, he was rather nervous about falling again.

That is, he was nervous until Clemitanie started cheering him on, shouting "Macavity! Macavity!"

The other kittens joined in. Their faith in Macavity was enough to convince him to put his fear to the side.

After building up his courage, Macavity leapt off the pile of junk. He remained suspended in the air for about two seconds; then he fell twenty feet to the ground.

He landed painfully on his feet, but fortunately for him, he was very resilient. After taking a moment to recover, Macavity turned back to the junk pile and climbed back up. He repeated the same routine several times until he was able to remain suspended in the air.

This exercise seemed much simpler to Macavity; all he had to do was focus on remaining off the ground and picture himself moving in the air. Nevertheless, Old Deuteronomy had him practice this exercise for an entire hour.

Macavity had even managed to fly for about three minutes.

After two full hours of training, Macavity and Old Deuteronomy agreed to call it a day.

Every day for the next several weeks, Macavity improved his form, and he was quickly becoming the most popular kitten in the entire tribe (with the exception of Rum Tum Tugger).

Note: The next chapter will be very lively. There will be some Macavity/OC romance.


	7. The Views Of Beauty

Several weeks had passed since Macavity had discovered he was a magical cat. As Old Deuteronomy had predicted, he had acquired new abilities over that time. He had fundamentally gained complete control of all of the ones in his possession.

Another year went by. Nothing much happened.

Then one particular day, about fourteen weeks before the next Jellicle Ball, Macavity was all alone in the clearing of the junkyard. He was practicing shooting some objects with lightning bolts without even looking at the said objects. His aim was so advanced that is was actually hard for him to MISS the cans.

While he was conducting this exercise, Clemitanie came into the clearing. Macavity waved at her and she waved back.

When Macavity decided to take a break, he walked over to her and they talked with each other about various subjects. The two of them had become very well-acquainted with each other ever since the day they had first met.

Macavity and Clemitanie actually did have strong feelings for each other, but neither of them were very much aware of each others' feelings. Macavity decided that he would be the one to come forward first. He asked Clemitanie "Clem, can I tell you something private?"

"Of course," she said.

Macavity was about to tell her, but suddenly, he became timid and looked over his shoulders. He wanted to tell Clemitanie how he felt about her, but he wasn't quite sure that he wanted anyone else in the tribe to know.

Suddenly, a brilliant (yet impulsive) idea popped into Macavity's head. He turned to Clemitanie and said to her "How about we go somewhere where nobody else can interrupt us?"

"Alright," said Clemitanie, "But I don't know if there's any place in the junkyard that's totally secluded."

Macavity grinned mischievously and said "Then we'll find a place outside of the junkyard."

Clemitanie was confused by what Macavity was suggesting. Before she could ask, he leaned over and whispered something into her ear.

In response, she looked at him in surprise and alarm.

"Are you sure that's safe?" she inquired.

"Of course, I'm sure," he scoffed, "I wouldn't suggest it if I wasn't sure."

Clemitanie decided to agree with Macavity's idea. The two of them climbed to the top of the tallest pile in the junkyard. Macavity stood behind Clemitanie and wrapped his front legs around her slim frame. He then cleared his mind of all distractions.

Clemitanie was especially nervous, but Macavity assured her that she had nothing to fear.

After he had properly focused his mind, Macavity dove off the junk pile.

Immediately, they started flying through the air. Clemitanie shut her eyes tightly, but Macavity kept his wide open. He started flying around the junkyard in circles with Clemitanie in his arms. After a minute, he told her that she could open her eyes. She hesitantly did, and she almost screamed at the sight. But Macavity whispered into her ear that she had nothing to be afraid of.

After spending a few minutes hovering over the junkyard, Macavity started heading away from it.

"Where are we going?" Clemitanie asked him.

"You'll see," he smirked.

Clemitanie suddenly had a disturbing realization: "What if a human sees us?"

"They won't," he said with perfect calmness, "We're going too fast for them to interpret us as anything other than a bird."

Pretty soon, the two of them were flying all over London. They observed Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and the theatre district of West End (Note: I've actually been to London; it's a beautiful place). They even saw The Eye, but they made sure not to get to close to it, lest someone see them.

Finally, after flying the air for about fifteen minutes, Macavity and Clemitanie landed on top of Big Ben. From there, they got a spectacular view of the capital of England. It was very early in the morning, and the two cats were able to witness a gorgeous sunrise.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Macavity.

"You can always see the sunrise from the junkyard," Clemitanie told him, "but from up here, you just cannot compare that view to this one."

Macavity turned to look at Clemitanie.

For the first time ever, Macavity became fully aware of the beauty in Clemitanie's complexion: her smooth and soft black and white fur, her perfectly aligned whiskers, her adorable pink nose, and her delicate frame. Even though Clemitanie was almost two and one-half months older than Macavity (Note: That's the equivalent of almost three cat years), the age difference meant nothing to him.

Clemitanie soon realized that Macavity was gazing at her. She turned and smiled at him.

Something crossed her mind; she asked her friend "Didn't you want to talk to me about 'something private?'"

Macavity nodded, and he told her "I understand that you'll be coming of age at the next Jellicle Ball."

"That is true."

"And because you're coming of age, you'll be required to perform the Mating Dance."

Clemitanie nodded. Macavity asked her "Have you given any thought as to who you would like your partner to be?"

Clemitanie quickly realized where this conversation was going. She looked at Macavity and told him "Of course I will."

Macavity was confused by her answer. He repeated "'I will?'"

"Be your partner," she finished for him.

Macavity scoffed. "How did you know I was going to ask?"

"Why else would you have brought it up?" she countered.

"True." Macavity and Clemitanie gazed lovingly at each other. He placed his paw on her waist and said "Just think; in a little over three months, we'll be performing the Mating Dance together!"

She placed her paw on his cheek and said flirtatiously "Who says that we have to wait three months?"

Macavity jumped a little at her last statement. He was quiet surprised by what she had just suggested, but in the back of his mind, he had the same thoughts.

Macavity took his free paw and placed it on Clemitanie's. He asked her "Are you sure about this?"

"Why not?" she pointed out, "We could call this 'practicing.'"

Macavity shrugged in agreement, "Practice DOES make perfect."

"And who will ever know?"

"You're right," he concurred, "Up here, nobody can see us, hear us, or interrupt us."

"Then let's do it!" she exclaimed.

"Okay," he agreed, "but how about we start with the latter half of it first? You know; the 'fun' part."

Macavity could tell by the look on Clemitanie's face that that was EXACTLY what she was hoping for.

He placed both of his paws on Clemitanie's waist and gently lowered her to the ground. He slowly lowered himself onto her, and pretty soon, they were in a complete embrace.

There was no need for any talking; both of them knew what to do from that point onward. They started by nuzzling their heads close to each other. Then they started to get much more intimate. Then they began the... mating process. To them, it was an incredible experience. Even the joy of flight was incomparable to the sensation that was quickly overcoming both of them.

In the end, they were both lying in each other's arms, breathing deeply and sweating. The two of them had made passionate love to the morning sun.

After about ten minutes, they decided to head back to the junkyard. Macavity wrapped his legs around Clemitanie again and the two of them flew back to their home. It was fortunate that they had arrived when they had; Grizabella had been looking for Macavity.

After saying goodbye to his clandestine lover, Macavity went to have breakfast with his mother and brothers.


	8. Unanticipated News

Note: Due to some of the content of the last chapter, I have decided to move this up from a K+ rating to a T rating.

Over the next three weeks, Clemitanie and Macavity watched almost every sunrise and sunset from the top of Big Ben. On the twenty-second day after they had first observed the sunrise from there, Clemitanie was walking through the junkyard alone, humming a tune to herself. As she walked, she encountered Nyrebima. Nyrebima was moving rather quickly in one general direction.

Alarmed by how fast she was moving, Clemitanie stopped her friend and asked her "Where are you going, Nyra?"

"I'm off to Jennyanydots' den, Clem," Nyrebima enlightened her friend, "Yesterday she reminded me that today is my monthly checkup."

"Why are you in such a hurry to get there?" inquired Clemitanie. She had noticed that the expression on Nyrebima's face was one of excitement and anticipation. Clemitanie had figured that Nyrebima would not be so enthusiastic about getting her normal physical unless there was something else involved.

"Well, Clem," Nyrebima began with a notable amount of excitement in her voice, "I'm not sure yet, but I think I may be pregnant!"

Clemitanie's anxious feelings suddenly changed to joyful feelings. She placed her paws on Nyrebima's shoulders and said "Oh, Nyra, that's wonderful!"

Nyrebima and her mate, Augustus, were the eldest two members of their generation (Which was composed of them, Wangidet, Ingrid, Munkustrap, Rum Tum Tugger, Bombalurina, Demeter, Clemitanie, and Macavity). They were also the only two of their generation that had come of age and performed the Mating Dance at the Jellicle Ball. Only recently had they considered the idea of having kittens.

"Would you mind if I tagged along?" asked Clemitanie.

"Not at all," answered Nyrebima, "It's always great to have a friend at my side."

The two young queens made their way to Jennyanydots' den. Jenny was waiting there at the entrance with her sister, Jellylorum.

Jenny and Jelly escorted the two younger queens inside. Inside, Nyrebima laid down on a makeshift table; Clemitanie sat off to the side and watched. Nyrebima knew the whole routine very well and Jenny and Jelly paid very close attention to their work.

When the two elder queens were almost finished examining her, Nyrebima told them the hypothesis she had told Clemitanie. Soon, Jelly and Jenny completed giving her the standard health exam.

Once they were finished, they started to examine her to confirm her theory. Jelly had Nyrebima lie perfectly still while Jenny slowly ran her paws over her abdomen.

After about two minutes, Jenny looked up at Nyrebima, smiled, and told her "Congratulations, Nyra! Your hypothesis is correct; you are about a week pregnant!"

Nyrebima sat up and squealed in joy while the other three queens hugged her firmly. Clearly, they were very happy for her.

"I would suggest that you go find Augustus and tell him the news," Jelly advisered her.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Nyrebima said gleefully, "I'll go look for him right away."

Clemitanie stood at the entrance of the den and watched as Nyrebima ran off to find Augustus. She could not help but smile as Nyrebima disappeared behind a large pile of junk.

She turned to look back into the den. Her smile quickly changed to a confused frown. Jellylorum and Jennyanydots were giving her "that look." At first, Clemitanie could not think of any reason as to why they would be looking at her that way, but then it abruptly came to her. She recalled that she was overdue for HER monthly checkup. Doubtlessly, Jelly and Jenny were well-aware of this fact as well.

Clemitanie was about to take off running, but Jenny and Jelly grabbed onto her and, as they pulled her back into the den, said half-jokingly, half-sternly "Get back in here, you!"

Clemitanie sighed and agreed to have her health exam. She laid down on the table just as Nyrebima had and allowed the two older queens to examine her.

As soon as they were finished, Clemitanie sat up and prepared to leave. But Jellylorum had her lie back down. She told her "Don't leave just yet, Clemitanie. There's something rather peculiar that has caught our attention."

"What is it?" asked Clemitanie.

"We're not sure," said Jenny, "But remain perfectly still. We may have our answer after examining you a little bit more."

Clemitanie lay back down on her back. Jenny started running her paws along her abdomen. This was a very odd experience to Clemitanie for a reason unknown to her. She looked down at herself and noticed that there was a large unusual swelling on her abdomen. Soon, Clemitanie began to noticed the similiarity this examination had to Nyrebima's second examination. Then she realized that the swelling on her abdomen had the exact same curve as the swelling on Nyrebima's abdomen. The only difference was that the swelling on Clemitanie's abdomen was protruding a little more.

Jelly looked down at Clemitanie and said "It would appear as though Nyrebima is not the only one who is expecting a kitten."

Jenny said "Clemitanie, it would appear that you, too, are pregnant."

Clemitanie almost immediately sat up straight and stared at Jenny in disbelief. Then she worriedly asked her "Are... are you sure about that?"

"Absolutely," was Jenny's response, "In fact, you are even further along then Nyrebima is."

"About how far along would you say she is?" Jelly asked her younger sister.

"I would estimate... exactly three weeks," Jenny answered her older sister.

Clemitanie suddenly had a flashback to the first morning she and Macavity had watched the sunrise from on top of Big Ben.

"I'm quite surprised you have not noticed this until now," Jelly told Clemitanie.

"I've had... other things on my mind." Clemitanie said to the two older queens.

"Well, now that we've established that you are pregnant, you may as well tell us who the father is." Jenny suggested.

Clemitanie hesitated for a moment, but then she got a little bit bolder and, without looking at either Jelly or Jenny, said "Macavity."

The two older queens merely nodded when they received this answer. Clemitanie could tell that both of them were very disappointed with her, but all the same, they sympathized with her situation.

"I suggest that you go find Macavity and let him know about this." Jelly advised the black and white queen.

"I will," Clemitanie promised, "But first, I would like to ask a favor of both of you. Do you suppose you could keep this quiet for a few hours? Believe me, I do not plan to hide this from the rest of the tribe- I doubt I would even be successful if I tried. Anyway, I will let everybody else know about this, but I want to tell them myself... with Macavity, of course."

Jenny and Jelly agreed to this arrangement, and then they dismissed Clemitanie from her appointment.

Clemitanie started looking around for Macavity. While she looked, many things starting crossing her thoughts. The only time she had mated with Macavity was that morning they had "practiced" the Mating Dance on top of Big Ben. Both of them had failed to consider the consequences of their actions at the time. Apart from that, both of them had neither come of age nor performed the Mating Dance at the Jellicle Ball beforehand.

Clemitanie was also wondering about how the rest of the tribe would respond to the news. She was unsure about her parents' reactions, as well as her friends' reactions. Most of all, she had no idea how Macavity would react.

Clemitanie found Macavity by himself in the clearing. He was practicing hitting cans with lightning bolts. When he saw Clemitanie coming, he smiled at her. She smiled back, but when she reached him, he quickly noticed that something was wrong.

He became concerned and asked her "Is everything okay, Clemitanie?"

She nervously began "Well, umm... Mac, do you remember the first morning you and I spent together on top of Big Ben?"

He smiled and nodded. "It was one of the finest mornings of my life."

She continued "Well, I just came back from my monthly health exam with Jennyanydots and Jellylorum. They gave me some news I was not expecting at all."

He listened very closely to what she was telling him. "Go on," he coaxed her.

She looked him right in the eyes and told him "I'm... I'm... I'm pregnant, Mac."

Macavity stared with a blank expression into Clemitanie's eyes. She looked to the ground, covered her face with her front paws, and started sobbing. She was very worried about his reaction.

A few seconds later, Macavity placed his front paws on Clemitanie's cheeks and brought her face up until he could see her eyes and she could see his. He was not angry, but instead, he was smiling at her!

"Really?" he asked excitedly "You and I are going to have a kitten?"

Clemitanie nodded in slight confusion. Macavity told her "Clem, that's... that's great!"

Clemitanie's tears of sorrow quickly turned to tears of joy. She asked him "Do you mean that, Mac?"

Macavity frowned. "Of course I mean it! Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, I don't know," she shrugged, "But I couldn't anticipate your reaction."

Macavity said half-agitated, half-lightheartedly "Were you expecting me to yell at you or claim that this is your fault?"

"Well, technically, it IS my fault," Clemitanie pointed out, "I mean, I was the one who encouraged YOU to 'practice' the Mating Dance three weeks ago."

Macavity shook his head and told her "We're both equally responsible. I want to reassure you that I would never deny having anything to do with you just because of this."

Clemitanie was so happy at that moment; her fears about Macaviy's reaction had been unwarranted.

"Does anybody else know about this?" he inquired.

"No, just you, me, Jelly, and Jenny." she answered. "But I promised them that you and I would tell the rest of the tribe about this."

"Well, I'm sure that if we don't, they will." Macavity concluded.

Clemitanie agreed with him. "So, when do you want to tell them."

"Tonight, after dinner," Macavity explained his plan to her, "We'll have everybody gather in the clearing. Then we'll tell them."

Clemitanie agreed to this arrangement. She could only hope that the tribe's reaction would be at least partially like Macavity's.


	9. The Next Generation

After dinner that night, Macavity had Munkustrap gather everybody around in the junkyard clearing. Macavity and Clemitanie had been planning their method of delivering their news all day, and now they were ready to tell their friends about the news.

Nyrebima and Augustus had already told everyone that they were expecting a kitten. Everyone had congratulated them already; Clemitanie could only hope that everyone would produce the same response for her and Macavity.

Once everybody was gathered in the clearing, Macavity and Clemitanie stood on top of the TSE-1 and looked around at the whole tribe. He then cleared his throat and began "Thank you all for coming. As most of you probably know already, Clemitanie and I have an announcement to make. I'm sure that all of you know that I would not have asked you here if I did not believe this announcement to be an important one. However, you all have a right to know, so Clem and I will tell you together."

Macavity looked at Clemitanie, placed his arm around her waist and turned back to everybody else. He told them "Some of you may know that she and I have been getting very close with each other over the past few months. About three weeks ago..." Macavity paused nervously, and then continued "She and I got closer than ever before. So, I think you should all know that..."

Clemitanie placed her paw on his mouth and turned to the rest of the tribe. She stepped forward and said "Nyrebima is not the only one in the junkyard who is now expecting a kitten."

There were mutters throughout the crowd. Once the muttering subsided, Demeter asked Clemitanie "Clem, are you telling us that you're pregnant?"

Clemitanie nodded her head. "I'm due in about six weeks."

Macavity and Clemitanie looked around to observe their friends' reactions. They could tell that almost everybody was very happy for them. Some of the were smirking, some were cheering, some were applauding. Clemitanie could see her parents in the crowd. She could tell that they were disappointed, yet happy and excited for her at the same time.

Macavity could see his parents in the back of the crowd. Grizabella was one of the cats applauding for them, and Old Deuteronom just had a simple smile on his face.

Once everybody let the message sent in, a lot of them started preparing to turn in for the night. Munkustrap, Wangidet, Rum Tum Tugger, Bombalurina, Ingrid, and Demeter came to Clemitanie and Macavity.

"Congrats, Mac," said Wangidet as he patted his friend on the back.

"Thanks, Wang." Macavity responded.

"Have you thought about a name yet?" inquired Ingrid.

"No, I'm going to wait to decide on that, Ing." said Clemitanie.

"I can't believe you're having a kitten before August and Nyra!" said Bombalurina.

"Truthfully, neither can I." said Clemitanie.

"By the way, where exactly did you two... well, you know... do it?" queried Rum Tum Tugger.

Munkustrap slapped his brother on the back of the head. "Tugger, that's not a question you ask people!"

"No, it's alright, Munk," said Macavity, "I'll tell you everything... with Clem's permission, of course."

Clemitanie gave him an approving nod. Macavity then went into full detail about the clandestine events of the past few weeks, such as how he had mastered his ability to fly and how he and Clemitanie had gone all the way to the top of Big Ben. When he was done, everyone looked utterly amazed.

A few hours later, Macavity was with his parents in their den. He was expecting to receive a long, monotonous lecture about the consequences of negligence and the importance of responsibilities. Instead, his parents were congratulating him even more.

"Mom, Dad, aren't you even the slightest bit disappointed in me?" Macavity asked his parents.

"Well, honestly, we are, Mac," Grizabella enlightened her youngest son, "But that doesn't matter at this point. All that matters is that you are about to have a kitten of your own."

"It is not uncommon for cats to have kittens before they either come of age or perform the Mating Dance," Old Deuteronomy explained, "In the Jellicle Tribe, bringing a new life into the world is always seen as a blessing."

Macavity smiled at his father and said "That does not surprise me at all, Dad. I know I must prepare for my impending parenthood. Is there anything I should do while I prepare?"

"This is a time to rejoice, Macavity!" Old Deuteronomy grinned. "Your kitten will be born five weeks before the next Jellicle Ball. Nyrebima and Augustus will have their kitten just three weeks before the ball."

Macavity nodded; he was grateful for his father's wisdom.

Over the next six weeks, Macavity went to work building a new den for himself and Clemitanie. He spared no details and made sure it was big enough for at least three cats.

Both he and Clemitanie also asked several of the parents in the tribe for advice. They learned more about ideal parenting until they were clear on how to handle everything and anything parenthood could throw at them.

Finally, they reached the end of the sixth week. Clemitanie went into labor early in the evening. She was in her parents' den, holding onto her mother's paw. Jennyanydots was at the other end of the bed, instructing her to breath steadily.

Macavity sat outside the den, sweating nervously. Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger were keeping him company.

"I'm sure she'll do fine, Mac," Tugger assured his younger brother.

"You should never underestimate Clemitanie's strength and resilience," said Munkustrap. He then leaned over to Macavity and whispered into his ear "Tugger once found that out the hard way." Both of them chuckled as the Curious Cat glared at them.

A few hours later, Jenny came outside and said "You can come on in, Mac."

Macavity immediately sprang up and went to the door to the den. "How is she? How's the kitten?" he asked repeatedly.

"They're both doing great," Jenny smiled at him, letting him inside.

Macavity saw Clemitanie on the bed, holding a black and white tom close. There were faint regions of gold on some of the black parts of his fur. Macavity approached the bed and sat next to Clemitanie. Looking down at his newborn son, he smiled and told Clemitanie "He looks just like you."

Clemitanie shrugged. "He may, but like you, he's strongly-built. He also has several of your facial features. Want to hold him?"

Macavity nodded and gently took the kitten into his arms. He patted him on the head and asked Clemitanie "Have you decided on a name for him?"

She nodded and told him "I really like Alonzo."

"Alonzo it is, then." Macavity concurred with her choice.

He still could not believe it; he and Clemitanie were the youngest members of their generation, but now they were the ones who started the tribe's next generation. They were proud of both this and their new kitten.

Two weeks later, Nyrebima had her kitten. Her kitten was a brown and cream Abyssinian queen with a smooth coat and mysterious face. Nyrebima and Augustus had decided to name their daughter Cassandra.

Once the excitement of both births had settled, everybody began to prepare for the next Jellicle Ball. It was only three weeks away!

Note: I know that Macavity and Alonzo look very little alike, but I have always had a hunch that they are father and son respectively. It would certainly explain a few things about the musical during the fight scene. By the way, it may be a little while before the next chapter is up. I plan to write another song for the Jellicle Ball. This one will be about Munkustrap.


	10. Songs Of The Heart

Note: In this chapter, Munkustrap's song will follow the tune of the opening part of the song "Notes" from _The Phantom of the Opera_. It will start at the beginning where Firmin comes in, go into the part where Andre comes in, and it will go on (in terms of the tune) until Raoul comes in. (If you do not understand what I am trying to tell you, I do not blame you. Let me know if you need me to explain what I mean.) By the way, just to make sure we're clear about this, I don't own _The_ _Phantom of The Opera_.

Over the next three weeks, everybody was getting prepared for the next Jellicle Ball. Macavity was looking forward to it with much enthusiasm. He had barely remembered anything from his first Jellicle Ball, as he had only been a month old at the time. But he was sure that he would remember every detail about this one.

Alonzo and Cassandra would be spending most of the ball watching everybody else sing and dance. But they agreed to participate in the opening song and "The Naming of Cats."

Macavity and Clemitanie had asked Old Deuteronomy in advance if they could have their own song just after the all-dancing session of the ball. Old Deuteronomy had been more than willing to grant them this request.

Finally, the Jellicle Ball arrived yet again.

Late that night, all the cats gathered in the clearing one by one. First "Jellicle Songs for Cats" was sung, and "The Naming of Cats" followed immediately after.

Clemitanie was the one performing the Mating Dance this year. Once everybody else had departed from the clearing, she began the complicated dance. Macavity watched from the side as his lover gracefully danced on her own. She carried out every move without any flaws whatsoever.

When she completed the dance, Macavity ran out to the center, stood behind her, and began the "Invitation to the Jellicle Ball" (He had been selected to give the invitation that year).

Macavity sang loudly "Jellicle cats, come out tonight! Jellicle cats, come one, come all!"

Clemitanie danced alongside Macavity as the latter continued "The Jellicle moon is shining bright! Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball! Jellicle cats come out tonight! Jellicles, come to the Jellicle Ball!"

Everybody else returned to the clearing. This time, it was Munkustrap who recited the tribe's sacred lyrics. He stood in front of everyone else and sang:

"_Jellicle cats meet once a year_

_At the Jellicle Ball, where we all rejoice!_

_And the Jellicle leader will soon appear_

_And make what is known as 'The Jellicle Choice.'_

_When Old Deuteronomy just before dawn_

_Through a silence you feel you could cut with a knife_

_Announces the cat that can now be reborn_

_And come back to a different Jellicle life._

_For waiting up there_

_Is the Heaviside Lair_

_Full of wonders ONE Jellicle only will see._

_And Jellicles ask because Jellicles dare_

'_Who will it be?'"_

Everybody sang out "Who will it be?"

Right then, everybody except Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger moved off to the sides. Macavity and Clemitanie sat with Alonzo, who was talking with Cassandra.

Soon, music started up in the background. After a few moments, Rum Tum Tugger started singing:

"_Munkustrap- such an honored cat!_

_Munkustrap- no denying that!_

_He's known as our tribe protector._

_He's the head of watch in this great sector._

_Never mess with Munkustrap._

_If you do, your wrist, he'll slap._

_If you treat him as a friend,_

_He'll protect you to his end._"

Munkustrap then started going around the clearing and pretended to study everyone's faces for any possible guilty feelings.

Tugger followed his older brother around- making sure to give him at least three feet of personal space at all times - and continued to sing about him:

"_Munkustrap will always notice_

_Misdeeds at the drop of a hat._

_He is always involved til' the crime is solved._

_Won't give up._

_We always must be loyal_

_To this royal_

_Black and silver striped, tall cat!_"

After that lyric, Munkustrap turned around to Tugger as if he just noticed he was there, and sang with a note of false exasperation:

"_Oh, Tugger,_

_You shouldn't flatter._

_That's a real bugger._"

Tugger put his hands on his hips and said lightheartedly

"_Munk, what's the matter?_

_I am not lying._

_These are valid facts._

_There's no denying._"

Munkustrap raised an eyebrow and sang

"_So, they're not attacks?_"

Macavity then got up and went to join his brothers in the center of the clearing.

Tugger shook his head and sang:

"_Just the voice of a brother._"

When Macavity was standing about two feet behind and one foot to the right of Tugger, Tugger turned around and got a good glimpse of him. Then he turned back to Munkustrap and- holding his arms out to Macavity- sang

"_Now, the thoughts of the other..._"

Everybody's attention was focused on Macavity then. They watched him as he sang his main part of the song to Munkustrap:

"_Hey, Munkus, you are quite admired-_

_Saluted everywhere you go._

_I do not tell you lies; you are very wise._

_And, of course,_

_You always keep your guard up_

_and you're hard up_

_On all mischief; that, I know!_"

Tugger placed his arm around Macavity's shoulders and looked back at Munkustrap. He sang

"_Hey, Munkus, I am sure Mac's correct._

_It'd be smart of you to agree._

_You possess will and might to stop any fight._

_By the way,_

_You'll always be befriended,_

_Not offended,_

_As it seems to Mac and me!_"

Munkustrap folded his arms and scoffed. Then he sang

"_Both of you may have a point there._"

Rum Tum Tugger and Macavity smiled and sang

"_Of course we do, Munkustrap."_

Macavity sang "_Else, we're blind as a bat_."

Tugger immediately followed with "_You're our favorite cat!_"

Again, Munkustrap raised an eyebrow and sang "_Is that so?_"

Tugger pointed out in his song "_You have substantial aptitude._"

Macavity sang "_Your attitude is serious._"

Tugger: "_We're truthful when we're saying that._"

Macavity: "_I'm praying that you're hearing us._"

Tugger: "_Please, brother, hear us out_"

Macavity "A_nd we will shout_"

Both: "A_nd we'll praise you as we clap!_"

The three toms repeated the last few lines once, and then the song ended. All the other cats cheered as Old Deuteronomy's three sons bowed and moved off to the side to allow the next song to begin.

Macavity sat down with Clemitanie. She kissed him on the cheek and told him "You were great, Mac."

Macavity grinned at her and turned back to watch the next song. This song was about Jellylorum. During the song, Macavity leaned over to Clemitanie and whispered "I wonder if anybody will ever sing a song about me at the Jellicle Ball someday."

She just smiled, placed her arm around him, and said "I'm sure somebody will someday."

A little while later...

The all-dancing session of the Jellicle Ball arrived. During the freestyle part, Tugger was doing some rather sensualmoves. Alonzo watched from the sides and tried to imitate his uncle's movements, which cause Macavity to groan and say aloud "Great; my own son, influenced by my flirt of a brother."

Clemitanie laughed and said "He seems to take after Munkustrap, too. During Munk's song, Alonzo was trying to imitate his 'standing guard' and 'watch and protect' poses."

Macavity seemed to be relieved to here this bit of news.

Soon, the Mating Dance part arrived. Everyone gathered in the center and one by one lowered themselves to the ground. This continued until Clemitanie and Macavity were the only ones still standing. Clemitanie slowly but boldly approached Macavity. The two of them nuzzled each other for a moment. Then Macavity picked Clemitanie up and held her over his head. After about ten seconds, he started stroking her legs. Finally, he lowered her to the ground and stroked her chest.

All around them, the other cats were getting paired up. Once all the cats had a partner, they all began to mate.

There were only four members of the tribe who did not perform the mating dance. Two of them were Alonzo and Cassandra, who were much too young to mate. The other two were Grizabella and Old Deuteronomy (It was customary for the Jellicle leader and his mate to observe the rest of the tribe during the mating dance).

Macavity held Clemitanie close to him and the two of them lay together in the center of the group. They started mating just as they had fourteen weeks earlier. To them, mating at the Jellicle Ball was even more pleasant an experience than mating on top of Big Ben.

After they had mated, Macavity and Clemitanie cuddled close to each other. Everybody else in the group had already fallen asleep. Just before the two of them went to sleep, Macavity asked Clemitanie "Are you looking forward to our song?"

She nodded and said "I cannot wait."

Then the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms without another word.

A short time later, everybody woke up and completed the second half of the all-dance session of the Jellicle Ball. After performing a series of complicated twists, turns, and other elaborate moves, everybody was tired.

Then it was time for Macavity and Clemitanie to sing their song. Everybody moved off to the side and paid close attention to the two of them. Soft, gentle music started playing in the background and the lights were dimmed considerably.

Macavity and Clemitanie were standing about five feet away from each other. He was looking directly at her, but she was looking at the ground.

Soon, Macavity began to sing. He sang:

"_No more talk of darkness,_  
_Forget these wide-eyed fears._  
_I'm here, nothing can harm you - my words will warm and calm you._"

He started approaching Clemitanie, who began looking up a bit with every step Macavity got closer.

Macavity continued to sing:

"_Let me be your freedom, _  
_let daylight dry your tears. _  
_I'm here with you, beside you, _  
_to guard you and to guide you..._"

By then, Macavity had reached Clemitanie. He placed his paw on her cheek; she slowly turned and looked up at him. Then she sang in a very harmonious voice:

"_Say you love me every waking moment, _  
_turn my head with talk of summertime... _  
_Say you need me with you now and always... _  
_Promise me that all you say is true - _  
_that's all I ask of you..._"

The two of them got closer to each other. Clemitanie put her face on Macavity's shoulder as he continued to sing:

"_Let me be your shelter, _  
_let me be your light. _  
_You're safe: _  
_No-one will find you - _  
_your fears are far behind you..._"

Clemitanie looked up at him and continued to sing:

"_All I want is freedom, _  
_a world with no more night..._  
_and you, always beside me, _  
_to hold me and to hide me..._"

They continued to look each other in the eyes as Macavity sang on:

"_Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime..._  
_let me lead you from your solitude..._  
_Say you need me with you here, beside you..._  
_anywhere you go, let me go too -_  
_Clemie, that's all I ask of you..._"

She continued the song:

"_Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime..._  
_say the word and I will follow you..._"

The music had been intensifying over time. Macavity and Clemitanie sang together:

"_Share each day with me,_  
_each night,_  
_each morning..._"

Clemitanie: "_Say you love me..._"

Macavity: "_You know I do..._"

The music stopped for a brief moment as they sang together:

"_Love me - that's all I ask of you..._"

Then the music got stronger than before as Macavity and Clemitanie kissed each other. After the kiss, Macavity lifted Clemitanie off her feet, took her into his arms, and held her. Then they sang the final verse to the song:

"_Anywhere you go let me go too..._  
_Love me - that's all I ask of you..._"

The two of them left the clearing as the music continued. Once the music stopped, everybody applauded for Clemitanie and Macavity.

Macavity and Clemitanie sat down with Alonzo. He was talking with Cassandra again. Macavity whispered into Clemitanie's ear "Clem, will you be my mate?"

She smiled at him and said "Of course I will."

The two of them kissed again, and then the rest of the Jellicle Ball was carried out.

The cat selected to rise to the Heaviside Lair that night was Clemitanie's father, Tamert.

Note: Well, what do you think? The next chapter will get closer into Macavity's turn to evil. By the way, I'm a type of person that in some ways NEEDS reviews to keep going. Please review!


	11. Trading Love

No one in the tribe doubted that Macavity and Clemitanie would become mates by the Jellicle Ball. But all the same, the two of them received congratulations from everybody.

So, the very next day, Clemitanie and Macavity made their den as their permenant place of residence.

One could assume that the two of them resided together, raised Alonzo, and lived for many joyful years together to the day they died.

If only it were that simple...

A week later, Grizabella was sitting by herself on her mate's tire. Macavity woke up early that morning to take a walk around the junkyard when he spotted his mother in the clearing. He sauntered over to her and sat down next to her. He smiled and brightly said "Good morning, Mom."

Grizabella looked at her son and smiled back, saying "Good morning, sweetheart." Then she looked toward the sunrise.

Macavity watched the sunrise with her. After a few moments of silence, he commented "Beautiful, isn't it?"

She nodded without looking at him. After another short interval of silence, Macavity turned to his mother and asked her "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything is fine," she assured him, but with a note of hesitation in her voice.

"Mom, everything is not fine," he realized, "You can try to convince me that you are alright, but you won't succeed. Please, tell me what is on your mind."

Grizabella gazed at her son; then she merely smiled at him again. She finally decided to tell him her thoughts, "Macavity, you've seen this city from a bird's-eye view several times, correct?"

He shrugged and said "Most of it."

"I am curious to know," she said, "What is the city like?"

Macavity went into a lenghty description of the many wondrous sights London had to offer, as well as some historical or cultural landmarks. When he was finished with the description, he asked his mother why she wanted to know. She explained "Ever since I was a young kitten, I've had a profound desire to explore or see what else is out there."

"You mean what's out there in London?" Macavity inquired.

"No, I mean beyond London," she clarified, "In fact, probably even beyond England. Unforunately, I've never had the ability to fulfill that desire."

"Why not?" he asked.

"I'm sure you know why." Grizabella gazed back at him.

Macavity sat thinking for a minute, and then the answer came to him: the worst crime - and perhaps the only unforgivable one, if there was such a thing - that any member of the Jellicle Tribe could commit was to turn his or her back on the tribe. This was accomplished by leaving the tribe with the intention to never return.

"I understand your situation," said Macavity, "But, Mom, aren't you happy here?"

"Of course, I am," she nodded, "But I sometimes wish I could go somewhere else. You see, there are humans who travel the globe and never reside for too long in any one place."

"I know, but they're HUMANS, Mom," said Macavity. "There are a lot of things humans do that we don't do. Like, we don't drive cars; we don't ride bicycles; we don't use utensils when we eat; we don't swim-"

"Yes, I know," Grizabella politely interrupted her son, "But all the same, I feel that there is this huge gap in my life devoid of something important. I feel that travelling is the only thing that can fill that gap. I have been able to control my aforementioned desire up to this point, but now, it has almost overwhelmed me."

Macavity had always known that his mother liked to get out, but he had not idea that her fondness of getting out was THIS tremendous. An unplesant thought suddenly entered his mind. He said to Grizabella "Mom, are you saying that Dad, Munk, Tugger, and I are the only reasons you've stayed this long?"

"No, of course not," she looked surprised that he would ask such a question. "But I just HAVE to see what is out there with my own eyes. Maybe that gap in my life can be fulfilled after all."

Macavity shrugged and stood up. He told his mother "I would suggest that you just think about this desire, and do whatever you believe is best." Then he went on his walk around the junkyard to leave his mother to her thinking.

The next morning, Grizabella was gone. She had left long before anyone else in the tribe had woken up. She had left nothing behind except a note on the entrance to the junkyard. The note said the following:

"_To The Tribe:_

_I have made up my mind. I am leaving. I do not care if you do not approve; the tribe's 'golden rule' will not prevent me from fullfilling my lifelong ambition._

_-G_"

Everyone was shocked when they read this note; Macavity being the most shocked of them all. Even Old Deuteronomy was confused by Grizabella's reckless action. However, Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger were deeply distraught. They could not believe that their own mother had abandoned them to fulfill some personal objective.

"Of all the crude, selfish, hedonistic things to do-" Munkustrap began to shout.

"This one puts all the others to shame!" Tugger finished for him.

"Guys, I don't think she's serious," Macavity said to his two elder brothers, "In fact, if there's someone you should be mad at, it should be me."

Munkustrap and Tugger quickly went from being angry to being confused and surprised.

"What do you mean, Mac?" inquired Tugger.

Macavity told them about the previous morning when he had spoken with Grizabella. He was also keen to mention how the advice he had given her about "doing whatever she believed was best" must have backfired. He even seem convinced that this mess was his fault. But even after he had finished his explanation, Munkustrap and Tugger were still angry solely at Grizabella.

"You may have given her a few encouraging words, Mac," Munkustrap pointed out, "But she had this desire all her life. All three of us should have known that it was only a matter of time before this happened!"

"Well, one thing is for certain," Tugger said through gritted teeth, "If she ever DOES come back, I won't forgive her."

"Nor will I." Munkustrap concurred with a note of fury in his voice.

"I will," Macavity bravely admitted, "And I don't care if you disapprove of that. She may have left us, but she is still our mother and she loves us all."

Macavity had hoped that his last sentence would make his brothers reconsider their emotions. But his attempt to persuade them failed, and they remained angry at their mother for her actions.

Macavity was very upset for the rest of the day. That night, he was in his den with Clemitanie and Alonzo. Both of them could tell that Macavity was under a lot of stress. They decided to try to comfort him.

"Are you okay, Dad?" asked Alonzo.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Macavity told his son.

Clemitanie stroked her mate on the ear and told him "Tell us what's on your mind."

Reluctantly, Macavity told them how he was feeling. There was so much guilt and sadness on his mind that it felt unbearable to him.

"I was trying to convince my mother that her ambition was a little far-fetched," he said through tear-filled eyes, "Instead, I convinced her to forsake the tribe! You cannot possibly imagine how that makes me feel! My mother is gone, and no one can ever replace her."

Clemitanie and Alonzo sat on either side of Macavity and hugged him. Clemitanie said "Alonzo and I are here for you, Mac. We may not be able to emulate her personality or characteristics, but I can promise you that we can give you just as much love and care as she did."

Macavity looked at Clemitanie and smiled. His tears started clearing up before he said "You mean it, Clem?"

"Of course I do." Both she and Alonzo hugged him tighter. He hugged them back.

Macavity's mother may have been gone, but he found that Clemitanie and Alonzo could fill the gap she had left behind. Now the two of them were his whole world. Secretly, Clemitanie was an much bigger part than Alonzo.


	12. Expanding The Tribe

Note: I feel that I should warn you; this chapter will go by a little quickly. But the next chapter will not seem so rushed. However, I plan to have it up within the next few hours. In fact, the chapter after the next chapter is one I have been looking forward to writing for a long time.

Alonzo and Cassandra were the first two members of their generation born in the Jellicle Tribe, but soon, their generation was expanded. Several members of the tribe became parents over the course of the next year.

A few weeks after Grizabella had left, Enbiota, the mate of Bustopher Jones, had given birth to twin kittens- one tom and one queen. The kittens were black, white, and orange, and they looked and moved exactly the same. The tom was given the name Coricopat and the queen was given the name Tantomile. Something rather peculiar about them was discovered a month after their birth. It was discovered that when they were together, they were psychic.

Bustopher Jones himself had changed over his years. He had gained more than just a little weight, and he was seen lurking around St. James Street almost as much as around the junkyard. He had actually become quite the gentle-tom. He carried an oversized spoon with him wherever he went, and he took the lens from a wristwatch to make himself a monocle. He became a club-owner on St. James Street with the help of some colleagues across town. He had even managed to comb his fur so that he appeared to have a mustache on his face. Soon it became obvious to everyone else that Bustopher had been greatly influenced by dandyism. Subsequently, he was referred to as the "Brummell of cats" after Beau Brummell.

A little while after this had taken place, Augustus and Nyrebima had their second kitten. They had another queen; this one had a completely black coat. Her parents decided to call her Exotica because this feature fascinated them so.

Soon after, Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots had their first kitten. Jenny gave birth to a tiger-striped queen. She and Skimble named their daughter Rumpleteazer.

Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots had also gotten jobs. Skimble had gotten a job at the city's train station. Every night, He took the midnight watch on one of three trains. Eventually, his responsibilites became so important that the humans doubted that they could leave without him.

Jenny's job was also mainly at night. She had taken on the responsibility of serving as a "nanny" to the rodents in the junkyard. She made it her directive to tame the mice, the rats, the cockroaches, and the other pests. Her job was very exhausting, so she often got some sleep during the day.

Of course, with her parents busy all the time, Rumpleteazer was able to get into all sorts of mischief. She had a special talent for swiping things when nobody was looking. Her parents did not approve of this, but there was little they could do about it.

The next members of the tribe to become parents were Wangidet and Ingrid. The latter gave birth to two toms. The elder one was mostly white with some shades of black on his back and face. He was given the name Plato. The younger one was a ginger and white tom with some black to his coat. He was given the name Admetus.

A little less than four months before the next Jellicle Ball, Clemitanie discovered that she was pregnant again. This news greatly excited Macavity and Alonzo. Alonzo was especially looking forward to becoming an older brother.

As if that was not enough, when Clemitanie was in the second week of her pregnancy, Jennyanydots discovered that she was pregnant as well. And, just two more weeks later, Jellylorum had discovered that she and her mate, Asparagus, were going to have their first litter!

Needless to say, the tribe was surprised by how three couples were expecting one or more kittens all at once.

Two months before the next Jellicle Ball, Clemitanie went into labor.

This birthing process was much more painful than the first one she had undergone, and it lasted much longer. Her mother and Jennyanydots had to keep reminding her to stay focused. She did not know why she was having such difficulty this time around.

Finally, the kitten made it out. Jenny let Macavity inside and he made his way over to the bed. The newborn kitten was a small tuxedo tom. Clemitanie held the kitten in her arms and smiled weakly at her mate. She was very exhausted by this traumatic birthing process. Macavity noticed how tired she was and asked her "Are you alright?" before he even looked at the kitten.

Clemitanie merely nodded as Mac helped her sit up straight. She looked down at her newborn son and smiled at him. Macavity did the same.

"How about you pick out the name this time?" Clemitanie offered.

"I narrowed it down to two," he told her, "Either Quaxo or Mistoffelees."

"We could call him both," Clemitanie suggested.

"That sounds like a reasonable arrangement." Macavity agreed. "Quaxo Mistoffelees it shall be."


	13. The Terrible Turn

Note: The song from this chapter is taken from the only poem in T.S. Eliot's _Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats _that is not featured in the musical. Imagine that it follows the tune of "Waltz for Eva and Che" from _Evita_ (They may seem incompatable with each other, but that was the best Andrew Lloyd Webber tune I could fine that went with the poem).

Warning: Major depressing chapter conclusion ahead!

A couple weeks after Quaxo's birth, Jennyanydots gave birth to a pure white queen, whom she and Skimbleshanks named Victoria. Just a month before the next Jellicle Ball, Jellylorum gave birth to two kittens. The first one was a somewhat hyperactive white and brown tom. Jellylorum and Asparagus named him Tumblebrutus. The second one was an equally-hyperactive grey, white, and brown tom. His parents named him Pouncival.

The tribe started preparing for the next Jellicle Ball. Everybody was looking forward to it, as usual. However, Clemitanie was still very weak from Quaxo's traumatic birth. She did not tell anyone about this, however; not even Macavity.

At this year's Jellicle Ball, Cassandra and Alonzo did the Solo Dance and the Invitation respectively. They were also the ones who performed the Mating Dance together. Macavity and Clemitanie (as well as Augustus and Nyrebima) could not believe how quickly a year had gone by since their children were only kittens. Now they were rising into adulthood.

After the all-dancing session of the Ball, Asparagus had reserved some space to sing a song of his own. His father, Gus, was too old to act, which was what he loved to do the most. Asparagus wished to pay tribute to his father by performing one of his favorite roles- Ca(p)t Morgan from _The Catastrophic Seas_. He would be singing the play's opening song: _Cat Morgan Introduces Himself_.

Everybody sat off to the sides while Asparagus walked to the center of the clearing. He was dressed in a navy uniform, complete with a belt and hat, as well as a wood pipe.

Music started playing up in the background, and Asparagus stepped forward. Soon, he took the pipe out of his mouth and sang in a thick English accent:

"_I once was a Pirate what sailed the 'igh seas -_  
_But now I've retired as a com-mission-aire:_  
_And that's how you find me a-taking' my ease_  
_And keepin' the door in a Bloomsbury Square._

_I'm partial to partridges, likewise to grouse,_  
_And I favour that Devonshire cream in a bowl;_  
_But I'm allus content with a drink on the 'ouse_  
_And a bit o' cold fish when I done me patrol._

_I ain't got much polish, me manners is gruff,_  
_But I've got a good coat, and I keep meself smart;_  
_And everyone says, and I guess that's enough:_  
_`You can't but like Morgan, 'e's got a kind 'art.'_

_I got knocked about on the Barbary Coast,_  
_And me voice it ain't no sich melliferous horgan;_  
_But yet I can state, and I'm not one to boast,_  
_That some of the gals is dead keen on old Morgan._

_So if you 'ave business with Faber - or Faber -_  
_I'll give you this tip, and it's worth a lot more:_  
_You'll save yourself itme, and you'll spare yourself labour_  
_If jist you make friends with the Cat at the door._"

Everyone was deeply impressed by Asparagus' rendition of the song, but no one was as impressed as Gus was.

The cat chosen for the Jellicle Choice that night was Clemitanie's mother, Dorsian (Both her parents were even older than Old Deuteronomy, and they had lived long and fruitful lives. Old Deuteronomy felt it appropriate to let them be reborn). Clemitanie kissed her mother good-bye and watched her rise into the Heaviside Lair.

A few weeks later...

While Macavity was practicing shooting cans with lightning bolts, Quaxo had come to watch him. After observing his father's movements, he started to imitate him. He stood up straight, gazed at the cans, and thrust his paw forward. Something completely unexcepted happened; a lightning bolt shot out of his paw!

The bolt sailed through the air and shattered the can into dozens of tiny pieces. Macavity turned and stared in alarm at his son.

"Quaxo, do that again," he ordered him.

"Okay, Dad." Quaxo nodded. He thrust his paw forward at another of the cans. Another bolt of lightning shot out of it and obliterated the can.

Macavity immediately knew what this signified: he was no longer the only magical cat in the tribe. He and Quaxo went to tell Old Deuteronomy about this news. The Jellicle Leader gave Macavity simple instructions: "Train Quaxo to use his powers the way I trained you."

Macavity began by teaching Quaxo how to properly shoot a lightning bolt out of his paw. He was sure to teach him the proper technique to the process. At that time, that was the only power that Quaxo had acquired. Macavity knew that more would surface over time.

Another week later, Clemitanie was still very weak. She could not understand why her muscles and bones were so sore. She decided that going on a walk would help her regain her strength. After letting her mate and sons know, she went off on a walk of London. It was not as impressive a sight as it was from a bird's-eye view, but it was impressive nonetheless.

Clemitanie's back and legs were starting to feel better, but some parts of her body still ached all over. She continued walking around the magnificent city, determined to expel the pain for good.

However, as she was walking around the corner of Fleet Street, something terrible happened. She was minding her own business when she heard a malevolent growl. She turned around and saw a Pollicle dog standing in front of her.

Clemitanie could only stare in utter horror. The Pollicle Dogs were a tribe of dogs similar to the Jellicle Cats, but the Pollicles could not control their primal instincts around cats. When a Pollicle caught sight of a cat, it almost went mad and chased after the cat until it had either caught it or the cat had escaped.

Clemitanie turned around and ran as fast as she could. The Pollicle ran after her, barking loudly.

_Thank God there's only one_. Clemitanie thought to herself as she ran. Unfortunately, she was wrong. On the other side of the street, two more Pollicle dogs had spotted their tribe member chasing after her. They soon joined the chase.

Soon, another Pollicle joined the chase. And another, and another, and another until there were ten Pollicles total.

As Clemitanie ran, she thought _Mac, where are you?_

Back at the junkyard, Macavity was training Quaxo in how to better his lightning bolt technique when he had a strange vision. He saw Clemitanie being chased through the streets of London by a swarm of Pollicle dogs.

"Clem?" he said aloud, coming back to reality.

"What, Dad?" said Quaxo.

"I just saw your mother... she was being chased by some Pollicle dogs." Macavity vaguely described the experience.

"Mom's out for a walk, remember?" said Quaxo.

"I know, but..." Macavity abruptly realized what was going on. Somehow, he knew that Clemitanie was in trouble.

"I have to go!" he said before turning around and running quickly to the tribe's exit.

"Go where?" Quaxo shouted to his father.

"Not far, I hope." Macavity whispered. After running to the exit, he ascended into the air and looked all over for Clemitanie.

At that same time, Clemitanie was still being pursued by the Pollicles. Her sides started to ache as she ran.

Macavity was not far away. He flew through the air until he spotted Clemitanie on the ground. He flew as fast as he could, but he was too late.

Clemitanie tripped about ten seconds before Macavity reached her. The Pollicles caught up with her and started to attack her. She was much too weak to fight back at all.

Macavity landed five feet behind them, fought off the dogs, picked up Clemitanie, and flew back into the air.

He looked down at her as he flew back to the junkyard. Her wounds were minimal, but she was bleeding in several places.

"Hold in there," he whispered to her, even though she was barely conscious. "You'll make it."

Macavity landed back in the junkyard a few minutes later. Everyone could see him carrying Macavity and ran to him. They bombarded him with concern-filled questions, but all that was on his mind was to find Jellylorum and Jennyanydots.

Once he did find them, he asked frantically "Is there anything you can do to help her?"

"We'll do our best, Mac." Jenny promised him.

Macavity waited for hours outside of his den as Jenny and her sister tried to heal Clemitanie's wounds.

Three hours later, Jelly opened the door to the den and said sadly "I'm sorry, Mac, but there's nothing we can do. Clemitanie is dying."

"Dying?" Macavity stared at the queen in shock. "She can't be!"

He ran inside the den past Jelly and ran to Clemitanie's side. She was still conscious, but she was having difficulty in breathing.

"Please, don't leave me." Macavity confessed his most personal feelings for Clemitanie, "I can't live without you!"

"Mac, take my paw," she whispered. Macavity complied. Clemitanie than told him "I'm afraid it is too late for me. I don't want to die, but I've accepted that I will. What's important now is that you accept it, too. I want you to always remember one thing: I love you."

"I love you, too." Macavity whispered. "I've always loved you, from the moment you and I met each other to now."

She nodded and said "I... want you to... hear this from me one... last... time: I... I... lo-love...y-yo...you... I love you."

Clemitanie's paw dropped to her side and she lay there, lifeless.

Macavity buried his tear-filled eyes in his paws and shouted "NOOO!"


	14. Out Of Control

Macavity felt that all the happiness had been taken out of his life at the same moment when Clemitanie's paw had fallen to her side. She was more than just his mate to him; she was the greatest joy in his life, as well as the most important person.

After her death, Macavity spent whole days alone in his den. Munkustrap and a few others had tried to go comfort him, but he refused to speak to anyone. He did nothing but weep for his late mate. He did not eat; he did not sleep. He felt nothing but pure, unadulterated agony.

Finally, after being turned down several times, Demeter managed to talk to him. She told him "Mac, I'm sorry that Clemitanie's gone. We will all miss her, but we have to put the past behind us."

"Dem, you don't understand, do you?" said Macavity. "Clemitanie was my whole world. What else do I have to live for?"

"Well, the rest of the tribe will always be here for you!" Demeter emphasized to him. "And Clemitanie gave you both Alonzo and Quaxo."

Quaxo...

Macavity took a moment to think about the past few months, and he realized Quaxo's role in this catastrophe.

Clemitanie had been attacked by a group of Pollicle dogs while she was out on a walk. She had gone out on that walk in the first place because she was feeling so weak. And why had she felt so weak? Because Quaxo's traumatic birth had used up far more of her energy than she had expected. Quaxo's birth was what instigated this horrible chain reaction.

Macavity thought to himself _Quaxo is the one to blame. He's the reason Clemitanie is no longer alive._

Macavity's brow quickly became lined with fury. He felt cold, hard anger replacing his sorrow.

He said calmly to his guest "You're right, Demeter. Say, speaking of which, could you please find Quaxo for me? I want to speak with him."

"About what?" she inquired.

"His, uh..." Macavity thought a moment, and then claimed "His next training session. He's almost perfected his ability to shoot lightning bolts out of his paws."

"Alright," Demeter nodded and was about to leave when Macavity stopped her. He asked her "Dem, are you alright? You seem to be trembling."

She smiled and told him "You're the only one who does not know this, as I told everybody else while you were in here. Munkustrap and I are going to have a kitten!"

Macavity faked a smile back at her and said with a note of false enthusiasm in his voice "Congratulations! Tell Munk I said that!"

She nodded and went to find Quaxo. She returned a moment later with the young tuxedo kitten. She left after Macavity thanked her for doing this little favor for him.

"So, Dad, with regards to my training, what would you like to talk about?" asked Quaxo.

Macavity gave no answer. He just slowly approached his son from across the den. His paws were twitching out of control at his sides.

Quaxo immediately knew something was not right with this scenario. "Dad, are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Quaxo," Macavity said, grinning wickedly as he continued to approach his son.

Quaxo started walking backwards away from his father. "So, what did you want to tell me?"

"I'll tell you in a moment." Macavity continued to approach him in that menacing manner.

Quaxo stared at his father with his eyes wide-open. "Dad, you're scaring me."

Macavity chuckled and said sarcastically "Oh, I'm sorry; that's not my intent."

By then, Quaxo had backed into the wall of the den. His eyes were fixed on his father. He may have been a very young tom, but he had a keen ability to sense danger.

At that moment, Alonzo came into the den. He saw his father approaching his younger brother and said "What's going on?"

Macavity looked back to the entrance and said "Nothing, Alonzo. Quaxo and I just need some time alone to talk."

Quaxo looked to his brother out of the corner of his eye and said "Alonzo, get Munkustrap! There is something seriously wrong with Dad!"

"QUIET!" shouted Macavity, turning back to his younger son. "Alonzo, leave us! We will discuss this later!"

"Um... Dad?" Alonzo began.

"LEAVE US!" shouted Macavity. Alonzo quickly left the den.

But he was not stupid; he could tell that something was definitely wrong. He stood outside the door and listened to everything going on inside. He heard his father say "Do you know why your mother is dead, Quaxo?"

"She was attacked by a group of Pollicles in the streets?" Quaxo assumed.

"Not quite," Macavity shook his head. "Do you know why she was in the streets in the first place?"

"Why?" Quaxo asked, still keeping away from his father.

"She felt very weak," Macavity answered, "And do you know WHY she felt very weak?"

"No, why did she?" asked the tuxedo kitten.

"Your birth overwhelmed her," Macavity explained. "She had handled Alonzo's birth well, but your birth was too much for her. She went on a walk to restore her strength, but on that walk, she was attacked by a group of Pollicles! So, I will ask you again, Quaxo. Do you know why your mother is dead?"

By then, Macavity was standing directly in front of Quaxo, who was too frightened to answer the question. After ten seconds, Macavity said "She died... because you were born! Now, I'm going to make you pay!"

At this, Alonzo burst into the den just in time to see Macavity bare his claws and raise them high over his head.

"Alonzo, help!" Quaxo begged his brother just before Macavity brought his arm down.

Alonzo dove towards his father and grabbed his arm just before his claws could hit Quaxo.

"Dad, what the hell is wrong with you!" Alonzo shouted.

"How DARE you defy me!" Macavity swung his claws at Alonzo, who was agile enough to dodge the blow. Soon enough, the two of them were fighting viciously with each other. After a minute, Alonzo pinned his father to the ground.

"Quaxo, go get Munkustrap!" Alonzo ordered his brother as he struggled to keep his father pinned.

Quaxo nodded and went to search for his uncle. He found him in the clearing. He was talking with several other of the older members of the tribe.

Quaxo ran over to him and said "Uncle Munkustrap, I need you to come with me immediately!"

"Does it have to be now, Quaxo?" Munk asked his newphew. "I'm in the middle of a very important conversation."

"This cannot wait," Quaxo told him, "My Dad is attacking Alonzo!"

Munkustrap jumped up to his feet and yelled "WHAT? WHY?"

"There's no time to explain!" Quaxo emphasized, "You have to come with me now!"

"Where are they fighting?" asked Munkustrap.

"In our den," said Quaxo. Upon receiving this answer, Munkustrap started running as fast as he could toward the den Macavity, Alonzo, and Quaxo shared.

There, he found Macavity trying to hit Alonzo with a makeshift chair. Before Macavity had the opportunity to do so, Munkustrap lunged at him and knocked him to the ground. Macavity fought back, refusing to be overpowered.

Soon after, they were joined by Skimbleshanks and Asparagus. Macavity soon realized that he could not fight all four of the toms on his own, so he decided that he had to get out of there. He pushed Skimble and Asparagus away, ran to the entrance, and hurried outside. There he used his powers of levitation to lift himself into the sky.

Quaxo had been standing outside at that moment. He was soon joined by Alonzo, Munkustrap, Skimbleshanks, and Asparagus. The five toms (and everyone in close proximity) watched as Macavity flew towards the city and soon disappeared from their sight.

Note: The story's not over yet! There's more to come soon!


	15. The Body Bag

Question: Is anyone else having trouble getting to the traffic charts on their acounts? Does anyone know if this always happen after New Year's?

Quaxo was still in shock from that horrific event that took place that morning. Demeter felt partly responsible for failing to notice that something was wrong with Macavity, and she felt the need to apologize to her nephew repeatedly. However, Quaxo did not blame her for not realizing that his father had lost his mind.

Macavity did not return to the junkyard. Some of the cats still wanted him to come back, Quaxo included. This greatly surprised several members of the tribe, most notably Alonzo.

"Quaxo, did you miss something?" said Alonzo. "Dad tried to kill you!"

"I know he did, Alonzo," Quaxo told his brother, "But he's still our father. Believe me, I'll never be able to look at him as I did before, but I'm sure that he will feel remorse in time."

Quaxo was a very forgiving kitten. Most other members of the tribe were not as forgiving as him. In fact, the only one who was more forgiving was Victoria.

A week after Macavity had left the junkyard, life more or less went back to normal in the tribe. Quaxo and Alonzo stayed with each other in their den, and their Great-Uncle Bustopher Jones took charge of Alonzo and Quaxo. Alonzo was already an adult, but Quaxo was still a kitten. He became very fond of his uncle and always praised him.

Alonzo, on the other hand, preferred to hang out with his uncles Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger. Both of them were great influences to him. Alonzo listened to Rum Tum Tugger for a few tips on how to impress queens. Alonzo took good notes, and he made a few modifications to Tugger's methods. Pretty soon, Alonzo became the most flirtatious member of the tribe; even more so than Tugger himself. However, he also took leadership and responsibility very seriously. Munkustrap even decided to make Alonzo his right-hand man because of how well he had fought off Macavity.

A few weeks after this, Munkustrap and Demeter became parents when the latter gave birth to their kitten. The kitten was a tortoiseshell queen whom they named Electra. Not long after this, Jellylorum and Asparagus had their third kitten. This time Jelly gave birth to a white and brown queen. She and her mate named their daughter Etcetera.

Just a little while later, Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots had their third kitten. This one was a small ginger and black queen. Her parents named her Jemima.

Three months after the last Jellicle Ball, a search for Macavity was started. Several nights a week, a few members of the tribe would look through the streets for him. No one ever had the slightest bit of luck in their search.

Two weeks after the serach began, Alonzo, Plato, and Admetus took a night out on the town. They returned with a normal-sized black duffel bag.

After gathering everybody else around in the clearing, Alonzo slowly unzipped the bag. Everybody looked to see what was inside, and they all gasped in unison.

It was a Pollicle dog, specifically a black and grey German Shepherd. He was lying totally still, and he had bruises and scratches all over his face and body. His eyes were shut tight and his coat was stained with blood in several places. He was dead.

"We encountered him by the Old Treasury Building on the State Circle," Plato told the others.

"What did you DO to him?" Munkustrap asked in disgust.

"Relax, Munk," said Alonzo, "He was like this when we found him."

"We decided that you should see this," said Admetus, "Fortunately, we saw a person throwing a duffel bag into a dumpster. Once he left, we got the bag, put the dog in, and got here as fast as we could."

"I was about to ask where the duffel bag came from," said Munkustrap, "Oh, well, we should probably concentrate on determining the time and cause of death. Skimble?"

Skimbleshanks was the best at forensics. He stepped forward and started to examine the dog. Everybody except Munkustrap and Alonzo stepped back to give him some room.

Skimble placed his paw on top of the Pollicle's forehead and stomach. After a moment, he announced "The body is still registering some heat. Based on the amount of heat I can detect, I would say that this dog died no more than six hours ago."

"Alright, now we've got some idea of when he died," said Munkustrap, "Can you tell us how he died?"

Skimble examined the dog's wounds and said "He seems to have suffered two abrasions, six lacerations, three contusions, at least one fracture, and several deep cuts and scratches all over his face and torso. It would appear that he was attacked with a special type of weapon. It was small, but very sharp."

"Do you have an idea what weapon may have been used?" inquired Alonzo.

"I'm not sure," said Skimble, "But the scratches are too thick to be any sort of knife. I don't think he was killed by a human. And, as we all know, dogs bite much more than they scratch. That being said, we can safely assume that he was not killed by a dog either."

"So, what do you believe he was killed by?" Jennyanydots asked her mate.

"I think this could only have been done by a cat." Skimble answered.

"What kind of cat could do this to a Pollicle?" said Bombalurina

"A German Shepherd, no less!" Demeter added.

"I don't know," said Skimble, "But this cat must have been strong."

Asparagus took a moment to study the dog. He told the others "Hold on; I recognize this dog!"

"You do?" said Alonzo.

"Yes, his name is Winston," Asparagus explained. "I once encountered him on Fleet Street- and I barely got away. I might've died if his owner had not called him over."

"You're sure it's the same dog?" said Alonzo.

"Yes, I'd recognize that patch of grey over his eye anywhere." Asparagus confirmed.

"Wait a minute," said Quaxo, "Asparagus, did you say you encountered him on Fleet Street?"

"Yes."

"How odd," said Quaxo, "I believe that that's the street where my Dad rescued my Mom from a group of Pollicles."

Munkustrap's eyes suddenly lit up. He turned to Rum Tum Tugger and said "Tugger, let me see the right side of your face."

Tugger complied and Munkustrap examined the his face closely. There was a scar there, which was well-hidden by his mane. Munkustrap compared the scar to the scratches on the dead Pollicle's face, and he discovered that they were identical.

"There's no need to wonder any longer, Skimble," Munkustrap said quietly, "I already know who killed this Pollicle."

"Who?" everyone asked together.

Munkustrap told them quietly "Macavity did this."


	16. Attack On The Street

Everyone gasped and covered their mouths with their paws when they heard this.

"What do you think this means, Munk?" inquired Demeter.

"It must mean that Macavity is taking his revenge out on the Pollicles who attacked Clemitanie." Munkustrap concluded. "However, I am curious as to why this Pollicle was found dead on State Circle."

"Why is that?" asked Jellylorum.

"I know how the Pollicles function," said Munkustrap, "Each member always patrols the same street. Their positions never alternate."

"But if you found this Pollicle on State Circle," Skimble said to Alonzo, Plato, and Admetus, "that can only mean one of two things. One, Winston's shift was over and he was heading home. Or two... he was running away from Macavity."

"State Circle is very close to Fleet Street," Alonzo noted.

"Obviously, the Pollicle did not make it far," said Cassandra.

After that, there was silence for a long time. Finally, Munkustrap stood up straight and said "Now that we know about Macavity's little 'vendetta,' it is imperative that we find him now. I'm sure he won't rest until all the dogs in the group that attacked Clemitanie are dead."

"What should we do, Munk?" said Bombalurina.

"We're going out there, and we're going to find him... tonight." Munkustrap announced his plan: "We'll divide up into pairs so that we can cover more ground. Augustus, I want you to come with me. Wangidet, you'll be paired with Alonzo. Plato, you'll be paired with Asparagus. Admetus, you'll go with Skimbleshanks. Coricopat, Tantomile, I want you to stay together and try to sense Macavity's mind. Everybody else, stay here and wait for us to return."

"I want to come along, too!" said Quaxo. "Please, Munkustrap, let me join the search."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I cannot, Quaxo," said Munkustrap. "Macavity may try to kill you if he sees you. I cannot take that risk."

Quaxo wanted to argue the point, but he knew it would be useless to do so.

Just before the toms and Tantomile left the junkyard, Demeter requested to accompany them.

"Maybe I can talk to him," she suggested, "He's always listened to me before."

Munkustrap did not want to risk his mate's life in this matter, but deep down, he knew she was right, so he allowed her to join him and Augustus.

All the cats stayed together until they reached Fleet Street. They were sure to avoid people with dogs, animal control, and the occasional curious child that loved to pick up stray animals.

When they got to the corner of Fleet Street and East Street, they found another dead Pollicle there. This one was a white and brown bulldog named Myron. Upon examining his body, Skimble inferred that he had been killed by Macavity as well, but he had been dead for no more than twenty minutes.

"He can't be far from here," Skimble told the others.

"Alright, split up and meet back here in one hour," Munkustrap instructed everybody, "If you find anything that suggests that Macavity is close by, come and find me. Now, let's move!"

The four pairs and one trio started searching through Fleet Street. At this time of night, there were normally three or four Pollicles roaming the vicinity. But on that night, there were none.

At one point, Augustus and Munkustrap went to search an alleyway. They wanted to make sure it was clear first, so they had Demeter wait outside the alley. She watched as the two of them disappeared into the dark.

Demeter sat there waiting for them to return. But about three minutes later, she heard a growling sound behind her. She turned and saw that it was a Pollicle dog. But this was no ordinary Pollicle, it was a Great Dane know as Cujo.

Cujo was the watcher of the Pollicle Tribe, but he frequently went hunting with his fellow dogs.

Every sane cat feared him, and Demeter was definitely sane.

At the sight of the huge dog, she turned and ran as fast as she could down the street. Cujo ran after her, barking like a wolf.

Demeter eventually ran into another alley. But, to her horror, it was sealed off. She was trapped.

Demeter slowly turned around and watched as Cujo approached her very slowly. He was drooling, growling, and eying Demeter closely.

She was terrified, but all she could do was stand up against a dumpster and watch.

When Cujo was three feet away, Demeter shut her eyes tight. She did not want to look at that horrifying facade as it got closer and closer.

Then, Cujo lunged at her.

Had Demeter's eyes been open at that time, she would have seen something red and gold jump off of the dumpster and interscept Cujo in mid-air.

She was expecting to be immersed in pain, but instead, all she heard was the sounds of a struggle.

Demeter opened her eyes and saw the Pollicle fighting a red and gold cat.

(Note: Whatever you do, do NOT feel sorry for Cujo)

Cujo was at least twice the size of the cat, but the cat was incredibly strong.

The two of them fought each other for over a minute. The cat scratched Cujo several times on his face and Cujo managed to bite the cat at least thrice.

Finally, the cat held Cujo down. He held onto his neck with one paw and raised the other paw high into the air. He bared his claws and struck the Pollicle once on the face.

Cujo kept barking madly at the cat and tried to get free. The cat merely raised his paw again and delivered two more fierce blows onto the Pollicle's face. The third reduced Cujo's barks to growls.

After three more blows, Cujo stopped growling and started whimpering in pain. Clearly, he had had enough and all the fight had gone out of him.

But that did not stop the cat. The cat raised his paw into the air one last time and delivered one final blow.

That was it; Cujo stopped making sounds and he stopped moving. He lay dead on the ground with the cat sitting on top of him.

All this time, Demeter had been watching the fight. She slowly approached the other cat from behind. When she was three feet away, the cat said without moving "Hello, Demeter."

She immediately knew who it was. She uttered her rescuer's name in utter shock: "Macavity?"


	17. A Monster of Depravity

Demeter could only stare at the ginger cat. Macavity kept his back to her, and he remained standing slouched over on the dead Pollicle dog. He was breathing heavily, but Demeter noticed that he was satisfied with his victory over Cujo.

"You sound surprised," he remarked. Macavity's voice had changed. He spoke in a much deeper and more stern voice.

"You just killed a Pollicle dog twice your size," she pointed out, "Of course I'm surprised!"

"It wasn't all that hard," said Macavity, "Even though he is a Great Dane. Now, what, if I may ask, are you doing here?"

"We came to find you." Demeter enlightened him.

"Find me?" said Macavity. "Why?"

"We found another dead Pollicle dog a few hours ago," she explained. "We quickly learned about this little vendetta of yours. We needed to find you before you killed all ten of the dogs that attacked Clemitanie."

"I'm afraid you're too late," he told her with a hint of satisfaction, "I've already accomplished that."

Demeter continued to stare at Macavity. "You mean-"

"Yes, I've already killed the ten dogs myself." Macavity nodded.

"All of them?" Demeter could not bring herself to grasp the concept.

"Yes, all of them," said Macavity, "Cujo here was the last of them. He managed to elude me the longest."

"How could you even tell which ones were the ones that attacked Clemitanie?" inquired Demeter.

"I only got a brief glimpse of them on the day I tried to save Clemitanie," Macavity explained, "but I instantly memorized their appearances down to the last spot."

Demeter was disgusted by how Macavity had shed so much blood, even though it was only Pollicle dog blood. But all the same, she pitied him and the amount of agony he was under.

She took a step closer and told him "Come with me. I'll take you back to the junkyard. We can set everything right."

Macavity scoffed. "The junkyard. I can never go back there, Dem. Not after what I tried to do to Quaxo. Neither he nor Alonzo would really see me as a father figure. Besides, Quaxo's much more fond of Bustopher Jones now."

Demeter's eyes lit up. "How did you know that Bustopher has taken charge of them?"

"I've been watching all of you for the past few weeks," he told her. "By the way, congratulations on little Electra."

Once again, Demeter was deeply disturbed by what she was hearing. However, she soon got a bit bolder. She walked over to Macavity and said "We can still make amends for everything that has been done. Quaxo told me himself that he forgives you."

Macavity shook his head. Up until this point, he had not so much as looked over his shoulder. He had remained perfectly still with his back to Demeter. He told her "I don't think you understand, Demeter. There is another reason why I can't go back."

"What might that be?"

"I'll just turn around and show you." At that moment, Macavity turned around exactly 180 degrees.

Demeter gasped and backed into the wall of the alley at what she saw. Macavity's image had changed. The fur on his head was all-messed up and standing on end. His teeth had gotten sharper. His eyes were outlined in black, one of them was blue and the other was green. His coat was ruffled and uneven. His face was stained with blood and contorted into a terrifying countenance.

"You see what I mean?" he said in that same cold, malevolent voice. "You are perhaps the most accepting cat I know, but even you cower in fear away from me."

Demeter said to him "Mac, what's happened to you?"

"I've changed, Demeter," said Macavity, "Surely you should be able to determine that for yourself."

Macavity stopped glaring at Demeter in that hostile manner and started looking at her in a different way. This change in expression was quickly noticed by Demeter. She realized that Macavity was staring at her in... interest. As in, romantic interest.

Macavity stepped off of Cujo's corpse and took a step closer to Demeter.

Demeter said nervously "Um, Mac, what are you doing?"

Macavity came another step closer and said "I never realized just how beautiful you are, Dem."

"Um, thank you..." she said with an equal amount of nervousness, "But Mac, I don't like the way you're looking at me."

"You don't?" said Macavity in false concern, "Well, perhaps I could convince you to change your mind."

Demeter knew exactly where this was headed, and she did not like it one single bit. Soon Macavity was standing directly in front of her. He brought his paw up and placed it on her cheek. His touch made her shake all over in utter shock and fear.

Macavity whispered "I know that you're not Clemitanie, and you don't look like her, but your personality is close enough to hers. That's reason enough for you to be mine."

At that, Demeter dove under Macavity's arm, scurried out of the alley, and ran as fast as she could away from the place. Macavity ran after her.

On this occasion, there were no humans in sight. It was very unusual for any street in London to be completely deserted, but this was an exception.

Every few seconds, Demeter looked over her shoulder at Macavity. He was quickly gaining on her. Finally, he lunged at her and tripped her. Demeter fell flat onto her stomach. She was about to rebound, but Macavity got on top of her.

Demeter was in a state of shock and panic. Macavity just whispered into her ear "Don't worry. This won't take long."

Macavity began moving slightly down Demeter's body. All the while, all she could think was _Oh, my Everlasting Cat! This is not happening! I can't believe... he's going to rape me!_

Macavity started to get hard. He was about to... violate Demeter in the worst way possible when he was grabbed from behind. Munkustrap had arrived just in time.

He threw Macavity against the wall as Alonzo, Wangidet, and Augustus went to Demeter's aid. She was in shock.

"Get her out of here," Munkustrap ordered the other toms, "I'll handle this."

Wangidet and Augustus picked up Demeter, but Alonzo refused to leave his uncle alone. He came to his side and said "I'm staying."

Munkustrap smiled and said "Very well."

Macavity picked himself up off the ground and charged toward Munkustrap and Alonzo. Macavity was stronger than either of them, but he could not watch his front and his side at the same time.

During the brawl, Macavity received a blow to the head. He dropped to the ground, apparently beat.

Munkustrap and Alonzo just looked down at him. They knew better than to underestimate Macavity, but they believed that they had won. They kneeled down to pick him up, but then he jumped up and pushed them both away.

Then he flew into the sky and out of their sight.

Everybody just watched as Macavity flew away. Munkustrap ran over to Demeter and asked her "Are you alright? What did that bastard do to you?"

"He... he..." Demeter tried desperately to catch her breath. "He... tried to... rape me."

"Tried to?" said Munkustrap.

"He... he... didn't succeed." she reassured her mate.

"Thank the Everlasting Cat." Munkustrap sighed in relief.

After getting everybody back together, they headed back to the junkyard.

But from that day onward, whenever Macavity got close to the junkyard, Demeter became tense and paranoid. Somehow, through that traumatic experience, she had acquired the ability to sense his presence whenever he was near.

Note: There's just one chapter to go! The last one will be kind of short, but it will explain all the remaining details, such as where Macavity got his henchcats.


	18. The Hidden Paw

That same night, Macavity came to an empty warehouse across town. It was about seven blocks from the Jellicle Junkyard.

It was there that he made his new home.

From that day on, the kind, loving, understanding side of his personality was gone. He became an infamous criminal.

His crimes were so atrocious that he put all other lawbreaking cats to shame.

A month after starting this new life, he started to hire several cats off the streets to be his henchcats. He hired alley cats, stray cats, fighter cats... if they were tough, loyal, and at least somewhat bright, he hired them.

With his henchcats, he broke every law. No one could stop him. Animal control, Scotland Yard, and the Flying Squad were amazed at how a cat could elude them so well. He soon became know by the authorities as "The Hidden Paw"

Whenever someone even got close to finding him at a crime scene, it was the same old story:

He wasn't there.

While Macavity was more than satisified with the new life he had created for himself, he had one personal objective above all others that he needed to fulfill:

Make Demeter his own.

He felt a deep desire to have that gold and black coat touch his own coat of red and gold. This licentious desire was so great that it became a source of great torment to him.

Macavity decided to make a plan to kidnap Demeter at the tribe's Jellicle Ball. It would not be the next ball, or the one after that, but instead, he would carefully spend the next two and a-half years of his life forming a plan to go after her. Then he would implement his plan during the Jellicle Ball of that year. Whether or not she approved with this did not matter to him.

Not only did Macavity plan to make Demeter his mate/consort, but he also planned to seize control of the Jellicle Tribe from his father. He would usurp the title of Jellicle Leader, using whatever means necessary.

He would not allow anything to stand in his way.

Conclusion: Well, what do you think? There are three things I would like to say- er, type. One, if you liked this, you may be interested in reading my fanfic "Magic Meets Love," which is a semi-sequel to this one (Even though I wrote "Magic Meets Love" first). Two, you may have noticed that Mungojerrie is the only cat from the musical that was not mentioned in this story. I intend to write my next fanfic about him. His story will involve him working for Macavity in the beginning. Three, after I write the story about Mungojerrie, I plan to write a fanfic composed of the entire Jellicle Ball from Macavity's point of view (he'll mostly just be watching most of it from the sidelines, but I think it would be interesting to provide his perspective on the Jellicle Ball).


End file.
